


War of ReConquest

by Not_So_Dark_One



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Westeros, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassin Arya, BAMF Daenerys Targaryen, BAMF Jaime Lannister, BAMF Olenna Tyrell, BDSM, Badass Daenerys Targaryen, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Canon Rewrite, Cersei Lannister Bashing, Daenerys Targaryen Deserves Better, Daenerys Targaryen Is Not a Mad Queen, Developing Relationship, Dom/sub Play, Domeric Bolton Lives, Dragons, Essos, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Game of Thrones Alternate Season 08, Game of Thrones Fix-It, Happy Ending, House Greyjoy, House Lannister, House Martell, House Stark, House Targaryen, House Tyrell, Jaime Lannister Lives, Jon Snow Knows Nothing, Jon Snow Knows Something, Jon Snow is King in the North, Jon Snow is Not Called Aegon, Jon Snow is a Stark, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, Knights - Freeform, Loras Tyrell Lives, Loras Tyrell is bisexual, Love, M/M, Margaery Tyrell Lives, Missandei (ASoIaF) Lives, Multi, POV Alternating, POV Arya Stark, POV Daenerys, POV Female Character, POV Jon Snow, POV Male Character, POV Margaery Tyrell, POV Multiple, POV Tyrion Lannister, Protective Jaime Lannister, Queen Daenerys, R Plus L Equals J, Rickon Lives, Sassy Arya Stark, Self-Indulgent, Shameless Smut, Targaryen Babies, Targaryen Restoration, The Long Night, Theon Greyjoy Lives, Well almost everyone, Westeros, Westerosi Politics, White Walkers, Wildlings - Freeform, Ygritte Lives, and he is a nice guy, because nobody has confirmed that he isn't, game of thrones alternate season 7, house tyrell lives, the good guys live the bad guys die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-10-12 09:20:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20561951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Dark_One/pseuds/Not_So_Dark_One
Summary: A retelling of the final two seasons of Game of Thrones;Basically, MAJOR alteration of events from previous seasons (and pre-book events), plus a mix of show and book events;OR my attempt to make most, if not all, fans of GoT happy by providing an alternate ending to our favorite show:)For more details on all the alterations I have made, as a pre-history to this fic, read the first chapter.DISCONTINUED





	1. The Road so Far

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is about the differences between canon version and mine. Read it first so as to understand how and why some people are in the situation they are in.

Okay, so here is how my canon divergence, differs from the GoT show. Region by region.

**The North**

\- Domeric Bolton is not poisoned by Ramsey. He remains Roose's heir. But is fearful of Ramsey.

\- He is the one who marries Sansa Stark. It slowly turns into a loving relationship and together they conspire to overthrow his father, get rid of Ramsey and restore the Starks to power.

\- Theon escapes from Ramsey's dungeon, before he is castrated and returns to Yara earlier.

\- During the Battle for Castle Black, Ygritte is wounded by Olly, but survives.

\- After Jon's death and resurrection, Ygritte forgives him and the two rekindle their love towards one another.

\- Rickon is brought to Roose, before he is killed by his bastard son - Ramsey.

\- Domeric, Rickon and Sansa escape from Ramsey and go to Castle Black, just after Jon is resurrected by Melisandre.

\- Ramsey usurps Domeric's place as lord of Winterfell and the Dreadfort.

\- Jon, Domeric and Sansa gather allies and in the Battle of the Bastards, defeat Ramsey with the help of the knights of the Vale and Baelish.

\- Ramsey is killed by Sansa, with the man's own dogs.

\- Jon Snow is declared King in the North.

**The Crownlands**

**\- **When Tyrion escapes from the dungeons, with Jaime's help, he discovers Shae in Tywin's chambers and learns she was forced by Cersei to testify against him and now she wanted to murder Tywin and Cersei both. It is too dangerous to go after Cersei now, but they kill Tywin together and escape to the Free cities with Varys.

********\- Right before the Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor, The High Sparrow relents to Margaery and allows for the evacuation of the sept. Margaery and Loras, as well as several other people, manage to get to safety, but most of the people do not make it out alive.

\- Margaery and Loras manage to get safely back to Highgarden, during the chaos in the capital.

\- Cersei is crowned queen, after Tommen commits suicide, thinking that Margaery is dead.

**The Reach**

\- After Olenna is reunified with her grandchildren, she decides to ally herself with the Dornish and the returning House Targaryen.

\- She arranges a betrothal between Daenerys and Loras, as a way to seal the alliance (and to benefit from it).

\- Margaery is to become the next Lady of Highgarden.

**Dorne**

\- Jaime and Bronn are captured by the Dornish in the Water Gardens.

\- Jaime hears about what Cersei did in the capital and decides to stay in Dorne, to protect his daughter from Cersei's madness destroying their last child.

\- Arianne Martell, from the books, exists here and is Doran's heir. Doran dies, poisoned by one of Qyburn's little birds.

\- Arianne declares war on Cersei and allies with Daenerys, and later on the Tyrells.

\- Arys Oakheart breaks his vows and marries Arianne Martell.

\- Bronn escapes and goes back to work for Cersei.

**The Iron Islands**

\- Everything remains the same, except Theon returns earlier to Yara.

\- Theon is not as damaged as he is in the books.

\- He matures, as a survivor from his experiences with Ramsey, and becomes a better person.

\- After the Kingsmoot, Euron Greyjoy, who reveals himself as the man who murdered Balon, is elected king and Theon and Yara flee, planning to ally with Daenerys Targaryen before him.

**Meereen**

**\- **Daenerys and Daario become lovers earlier on.

**\- **Daenerys and Daario have a child together, named Vaelor. Daenerys legitimizes him on birth. The child is born soon after she takes Meereen.

\- She puts a dragon egg, found in the Meereenese treasury, into the crib of the baby and it hatches.

\- Tyrion is kidnapped by Jorah on the way to Meereen and they arrive in Meereen as in the books.

\- Jorah doesn't get infected by Greyscale.

\- They are joined by Shae and Varys soon after, just before the Second Siege of Meereen.

\- Daenerys is forced to marry Hizdahr, just like in the books. Hostages, among them Daario, are handed to the Yunkish invaders.

\- After the events of Daznak's pit, Daenerys flies off with Drogon.

\- Hizdahr declares himself king.

\- Tyrion, Varys, Shae and Missandei look after Vaelor, while ser Barristan and Grey Worm, along with those still loyal to the queen, protect them. Jorah goes looking for Dany.

\- Hizdahr tries to kill them, but fails.

\- Hizdahr is imprisoned and the Siege continues. Daario, as well as the other hostages, are executed by the Yunkish, who crucify them as a way to scare the enemy.

\- Yara and Theon, looking for an alliance with Dany, come and help the defenders of Meereen.

\- Daenerys returns and breaks the siege with her new Khalassar of 60000 men. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so what do you think of my alterations? Expect the first proper chapter, by the end of the day.


	2. The End of the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is a retelling of the aftermath of the second siege of meereen. I have depicted it more or less as it was in the books, except I mixed it with the show somewhat.  
Anyways, I also added some scenes, that the show should have included. 
> 
> As for Varys's travels, let's just go with the jetpack theory.

**Meereen, Slaver's bay**

"Please, my queen. I didn't do anything." 

Excuses, excuses. Daenerys had been out of the city for no more than a few months and the result was this: blood, gore, betrayal. 

"You betrayed me, you conspired against me with those beside you.", she pointed towards the other masters, all of them chained to one another with connected neck collars. The king, her disloyal husband - Hizdahr zo Loraq was chained in the middle. He was a king after all, for a few more moments. She had them all chained just outside the gates. 

"You tried to poison me and you tried to murder my SON.", her blood was boiling. She was mad with fury. Her dragons reacted to her thoughts, screeching and roaring. She thought she smelled Hizdahr pissing himself.

"Please, my queen. I didn't...I...dddid not do it. H-h-h-he is-s-s stil-l-l-l a-a-a-live." He could barely form a half-coherent word anymore.

"That supposed to be an excuse, you pathetic excuse for a man? I must admit, I didn't enter this marriage with high hopes. The only reason I married you was because I expected it to benefit my city. For the peace, for the children."

"Iff you k-k-k-kill me, the p-p-peop-l-e of the c-c-c-ity, would...", she blocked him off with a kick to his face, tired of listening to his sobbing.

"I need you no longer. In fact, I think the people of the city care not for you treacherous 'king'." she said, looking at the jeering crowds that had gathered to watch. His eyes sunk.

"Look at me, look at my khalasar, look at my dragons. I have grown quite a bit since the last time we met. My dragons are fully under my control now. I rode Drogon as I destroyed your friends' pathetic excuse for an invasion. But I believe that you weren't present to see how I command my dragons. Allow me to rectify that."

He started to sob and scream, muttering all sorts of prayers at her, as he realized what she was about to do. Drogon's head came closer to the prisoners. 

"Dracarys.", she uttered as Drogon drowned the slavers' screams in a jet of dragon flame. He kept doing it, until of the masters was left nothing more than a black scorched mark and their scorched bones.

"This", she pointed to the blackened ground, while addressing all the people of the city and all the survivors, whose sole reason for existence was to witness and spread the message "is what happens to all those who support slavery. And if anyone enslaves another ever again in the cities of Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen, THIS will be your FATE."

Tyrion was watching the burning slavers, while holding Shae's hand. The rest of the city's leadership, as well as their allies were present there. Masters and former masters, freedmen of all colors, all were watching the queen's terrible retribution. 

He was lucky. They all were. If ser Barristan hadn't finally moved to arrest Hizdahr, they might have all ended up dead, before the queen returned.

"You okay?" is all he could mutter to Shae. 

"Yes, why wouldn't I be. That man got what was coming for him, they all did."

Tyrion thought so as well. _Then, why am I feeling sad about them? Surely, they deserved it for all the horror, they had caused._ Still, for some reason, Tyrion could never completely ignore violence. He just wanted to drown himself in Shae's bosom and forget about the whole thing. 

But he knew that was not going to happen.

Yara and Theon followed the Dragon Queen and the others to what she assumed to be her palace - a massive pyramid, made of colored bricks. There were many other pyramids in the city, but this one dwarfed them all. The throne room was large, too. Purple marble was what the room was made of and tall candles lay between the pillars. The throne itself should have been on the top of many stairs, except there was a bench. An ebony bench. Simplicity that surprised her. The Dragon queen sat atop it in a most regal manner and several of her guards stood beside her, amongst them the legendary knight - Barristan the Bold.

"Thank you, my lady.", the silver haired woman spoke. "Thank you for saving my people, my city, my son. If you hadn't come when you did, the city might have suffered far greater casualties than it did."

"You are welcome, your Grace. In truth, we came seeking your help and an alliance against our common enemy. My uncle has stolen my throne, I seek your help in reclaiming it."

"Your throne? Shouldn't it be his?", she pointed at Theon.

"No, I am not fit to rule."

"Agreed.", said a dwarf, who, by all accounts, was Tyrion Lannister.

"I...have had a recent experience with ruling and found I was no good as a ruler, but my sister is. She is young, but she knows how to lead. She is bold and daring, but also clever. She can be rash, at times, but you will find no better or more trustworthy ally than her."

The queen smiled. Both of them.

"You do realize how that would interact with my ambitions?" Daenerys asked the obvious question, but on the long way here, Yara had prepared for this.

"Your Grace, I am hardly the most well learned person in history. I am no maester. But my most learned uncle - Rodrik Harlaw, has told me many times, that our union with Westeros is no more than formality. In truth, my people have never acted much like a part of the realm."

"How does that answer my question?"

"Well, giving our independence back, wouldn't change anything, would it?"

"Indeed. I suppose I can grant you that, on certain conditions."

"You can't just give them back their independence.", exclaimed the Imp. 

"I can. As a learned man yourself, can you say her arguments were false?"

"No, but..."

"You haven't heard my conditions."

"Which are?", Yara asked.

"No more pillaging, reaving or raping. Not on the territories that have sworn my family fealty. You understand what I am saying, yes?"

Yara understood. While she knew that the queen and her kin could easily repel the Ironmen with their dragons, this also meant that anyone who rebelled against Targaryen rule was fair game for the ironborn. She was turning her men into boogeymen. 

_Clever woman. Cute, too. A deadly combination._

The Imp must have thought of the same for he smiled after hearing his queen.

They held their hands together and thus an alliance was formed.

Varys had returned to Meereen only recently. The signs of war were still here. Thousands upon thousands of Dothraki were within and around the city. Camping. Was this another siege? Unlikely, since he saw the queen's three dragons flying above the Great Pyramid. 

_She has returned. She had to. And she did._

Varys rushed through the streets for the pyramid. On the way, he heard people talking about the recent siege by the yunkish, all the while cleaning the streets and removing slowly and trace of a siege.

He entered the queen's audience chamber, just in time to see the queen shaking hands with Yara Greyjoy, who was just leaving. 

The queen noticed him and all her inner circle moved to her smaller meeting chamber. All of them, including her son, the prince Vaelor, and his golden dragon - the sparkling Solaris.

"Your Grace, I am pleased to see you have returned."

"And you are?", she asked, while holding her three-year-old son's hand.

"Oh, yes. I suppose this is the first time we meet in person. I am Varys."

"Yes, mummy. He is my friend. He came just after you left and was here for a while but then he left, too.", said the young prince.

"Yes, my apologies for my sporadic appearances, my lovely prince, but I am quite the busy bee. Looking for more friends for your mother."

"Ohh, that sounds nice."

The queen smiled and said: "I am so sorry, for leaving you all alone here, but could you please go wait in your bedchambers."

"Okay.", he said and Missandei led him out of the room.

"Yes, I know who you are, lord Varys. Your reputation precedes you. You are the man who led the hunt for me. The man to whom ser Jorah supplied information. The man who told Robert Baratheon and his assassins where to find me."

"Do not try to deny it Spider.", shouted Jorah.

"Your Grace, lord Varys has proven himself a most useful servant and..." Tyrion was silenced by the queen.

"A man who changes his monarch the way I change my boots, tell me now: Why should I trust you?"

"True, what you said. All of it. But your Grace, you see, I looked for the right monarch. As strange as it might sound to you, I am no lord and I have no idea why people call me so. I care for the realm, for the common people. People who prosper under just rule and suffer under tyrants. Those people, my loyalty goes to. I believe you are a just ruler, unlike your recent predecessors. Your father was called the Mad King for a reason. Robert Baratheon was neither mad nor cruel, but he was not a good monarch. He simply didn't want to rule. Joffrey was going on the path to become just like your father. And Tommen - he was just too soft."

"Was?", thought Tyrion and said it out loud.

"I see. I hope you are not wrong in choosing me as your new monarch, lord Varys. You seem like a good person. Not many around here. Lord Tyrion seems to trust you as well. So do the rest of the people here. Henceforth, you will tell me all things of importance. If I fail the people, or myself and my own, you will tell me first about it. I name you my Master of Whisperers. BUT if you betray me, neither honeyed words nor the pleas of your friends will save you from landing in my dragon's belly. Are we clear?"

_You are just as I thought, you would be._

"Yes, my queen."

"What did you mean by 'was'?" asked Tyrion no longer able to contain his worry for his nephew's fate.

"I am so sorry, my friend, but king Tommen Baratheon committed suicide."

Everyone tensed at those words, especially Tyrion. He loved that boy. Him and Myrcella both, despite their mother and brother.

"How? Why? When?"

"Your sister blew up the Great Sept of Baelor with wildfire. Believing that his wife was dead, the boy jumped off his bedroom's windows."

"That is terrible.", exclaimed the queen.

"I am so sorry, my love.", said Shae.

"There is more.", said Varys.

"No, not Myrcella, too. They didn't deserve this.", Tyrion was on the verge of tears.

"Do not worry, my friend. She and your brother are safe in Dorne. But your sister - Cersei, has usurped the throne and declared herself Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms."

Everyone was looking shocked, all but Daenerys Targaryen.

"What does it matter? Whichever usurper sits my throne, they shall be deposed. At least, your sister shortened the titles."

Tyrion had recollected his grieving mind enough to utter a chuckle. At least Myrcella was safe. His sister was now dangerous even to her own children. She was lost. He had to protect what remained.

"And how did your travels fare?", asked him Tyrion.

"Oh, very well. I have made allies of the new Princess of Dorne - Arianne Martell and of the Tyrells."

"How?", asked Daenerys, already knowing of the alliance between the Lannisters and the Tyrells.

"Prince Doran - Arianne's father, was poisoned by one of the new queen's men and in the Great Sept lord Mace Tyrell died, but his children escaped. All desire revenge on Cersei. And Lady Olenna Tyrell agreed to ally herself to you...in exchange for you marrying Loras Tyrell."

"What? After so recently doing away with one husband, you wish to give me another?"

"My queen, Loras Tyrell is a dashing gentleman. He is a man who sleeps with both men and women, and apparently prefers men, but what of it? He can surely provide you with other children. Plus, he is known for being a very nice man."

"He is not wrong.", added ser Barristan. "One of the best knights I have ever seen. A true knight, too. A man of chivalry and not some ruffian with an armor, like most of them these days."

"And he brings with him the might of the Reach - grain, enough to feed the starving masses and almost 70 000 soldiers. Plus a very large fleet of ships. To carry your men to Westeros."

A brief silence fell, as the queen was in thought, for a few endless moments.

"Fine, I suppose. I always knew that I would have a need of such a marriage. I will just have to tame this Knight of Flowers."

_Oh, she could. Tyrion knew she could. If she could tame dragons, she would be able to deal with one golden rose._

The weeks passed by as the ships of the Reach started coming here, to ferry her forces to Westeros. Meanwhile, she had summoned all the power elites of Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen, or whatever was left of them. Surprisingly enough, the audience chamber was not as packed as she thought it would be.

"My lords, as you already know I have won." A simple statement of fact, but she wanted to make certain, there were no misinformed people here. "So now, I believe you can completely discard all notions of Ghiscari slaver empire glory. The days of Slaver's bay are over. Not it is the Bay of Dragons. I shall leave soon, for Westeros, but if you cause trouble, I shall return. And I shall do to you all, what I did to them." She pointed to one of the walls. Two Unsullied and two Brazen Beasts removed the cover. The wall was lined with skulls and bones, all carefully stuck to it. Some were blackened from dragon fire. Others were still white. Some of them were from the masters, she had executed, others were of the slave soldiers, who had fallen to her forces. In the middle of them all, visible, was one blackened and cracked skull with a crown on its head. It was Hizdahr's.

There were other skulls. The slavers had brought a lot of people with them. The rest shall become similar monuments to the death of slavery in the Bay of Dragons, within the cities of Astapor and Yunkai.

The reactions were different. The ones who were calling themselves the Shavepates, looked on in pride of their victory over the invaders. The others, who weren't from Meereen, looked upon it with horror and dread. Judging by the stench, several of the latter had pissed themselves. 

_Good. Fear me. Fear what I would do to you, if you enslave someone again._ She just thought it, never said it. But she knew. She knew they all understood. She might need to return here every once in a while, until they got used to living without slaves, but she expected that to happen, sooner rather than later.

One braver young slaver spoke: "But your Worship, how shall we live? Our economy relies on slaves."

The man was shaking like a leaf in front of a tornado, but he had a point. Astapor, for instance, held no appeal, without the Unsullied, it produced. But she had thought of that.

"The three cities shall unite into a single confederation, headed by a council made up of former masters and freedmen, all of them learned men and women. Half of them freedmen and half of them former masters. You shall trade between one another, trade with others, like Qarth and the Free cities. Your cities have rare spices and wines as well as your lands, which are rich in metals like copper. You shall learn to live in peace, without slaves. You can prosper without slaves. And the Dothraki will not pester you. I have made certain of that. So you will have the peace, required to develop. So, anyone against?"

The moment she rose from her seat, they took a step back. They understood. "It seems that we are in agreement, then."

She remained in Meereen for a few more months to guide the creation of the ruling council, headed by the Shavepates. She hoped she was doing the right thing. She meant what she said. If the need arose, she would be back. 

But now it was time to leave, time to go home. 

To Westeros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barristan is alive. I love the character, sue me.  
Daario needed to die. I just never quite liked the book version of the guy, sorry.  
Next - the whole gang in Westeros.


	3. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany comes home.

**Dorne, The Seven Kingdoms**

It had been a long voyage from Meereen to Dorne. Thanks to the slavers' fleet, she had confiscated, the ships of Yara Greyjoy and the ships sent by the Reach, Dany had enough to transport her men and her dragons. 60 000 Dothraki, 8000 Unsullied and the Freedmen companies. Back in Meereen, after Daario's death, the Second Sons had selected amongst themselves a new leader. She had ordered that man to use the Second Sons to enforce the new regime in the Bay of Dragons for the next few years. That was her last assignment for them. She no longer needed the sellsword company. Back when she had only them and the Unsullied, they were invaluable to her, but now she hardly needed them anymore. So she left them behind.

As for the Freedmen companies, well, they wanted to follow her here. To help her reclaim her home, as a show of their gratitude for their freedom. When their leaders had come before her, literally begging her to let them do so, she just couldn't say no to them. They were made up of 3 companies - the Mother's men, the Stalwart Shields and the Dragon's troop. In total, they numbered about 20 000 men. Their leaders were made up of the men she freed from Astapor, Meereen and Yunkai. Few of them could fight, back when she freed them, but they had apparently been training under the Unsullied for a while, so they should do well enough. 

Daenerys was the leader of the largest khalasar in history and one of the largest armies Westeros has ever seen. She will not lose.

At first, she had intended to land in Dragonstone - the place of her birth. But after discussing it with her advisors, she had come to the conclusion that it was unsuitable. The castle was quite strong and invading the island would be a folly. There were also deep water ports for the hundreds of ships she now had. But that was all.

The castle was apparently a damp place, not exactly welcoming and not to mention unconnected to the mainland. She would have to use ships again in order to reach the mainland. One heavy storm in the Narrow sea was all it took to sink her armies. Her men were strong and loyal, but how would that help against the storms. Plus, the dampness of the castle was not good for the health of her boy. So no.

Still, she sent two ships to take hold of the apparently uninhabited castle. Perhaps, she would visit it one day in person. The ships she sent contained some of her older followers. People who she would rather leave out of the battlefield. Of course most of them were skilled warriors, so they would be able to hold the castle and defend it in case of a siege.

But enough of that. They were approaching the Dornish coast. They were heading for Planky Town, a small town with a port, where some of her ships would be docked. The rest would anchor as close as possible to the coast. They wouldn't stay in Dorne too long, so it would have to do.

"We are almost here.", said Tyrion, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes, we are. I have something for you. I had a blacksmith in Meereen make it. Back then I was still thinking to whom to give it to, but...I think that it should fit you quite nicely."

_What was she talking about? _was what he was thinking before he saw her holding it. The pin. The pin that belonged to the person who held the second most powerful office in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Tyrion Lannister, I name you Hand of the Queen. Do you swear to always give me a good and honest council?"

He knelt. He was shaken to his core. For the first time someone appreciated his intelligence, his ability, his loyalty. "Yes, my queen. For as long as I live." 

She attached the pin, that resembled a hand holding a sword, to his coat. He had never felt more honored.

The ships were closing in. Most dropped anchor close to the coast. A few of them, as many as possible, docked at the port. Planky town was not small, by Dornish standards but her country never had much of a fleet, so they never needed bigger ports. Those were for traders. Arianne, Arys, Ellaria, the Sand Snakes as well as her guests and allies from the Reach. Her Lannister guests, or hostages rather, were also here. The streets were packed with people as well. All coming to see the legendary Dragon queen. One couldn't really blame them. The tales from travelling Essosi merchants were enough to make one wonder: was she real, or just someone's imagination. Well, she was real enough. The three large dragons, flying above the fleet, we proof enough. 

All in all, Arianne was quite happy.

After her father had died, she had become Princess of Dorne. She loved her father, she truly did, but his long term strategies for revenge were going nowhere. Many of their vassals thought him weak. He was not weak. But if everyone thought you were weak, wasn't it the same as being weak? Cersei Lannister poisoning him had, oddly enough, united all of Dorne against that mad cunt.

Unlike her rash cousins, Arianne had planned this out. To take down the Lannisters, she needed help. Powerful help. Even with the armies of the Reach, it might not be enough. But with the Dragon queen, she had already won. 

A few days back, she had even convinced her knight in shining armor - ser Arys Oakheart to leave behind that stupid white cloak and become her consort. It had started out as a flirt, as a way to use him against his masters, but on the way, she had grown to love him.  
_Who was being manipulated now?_  
Arianne married him in a private ceremony and, after all the violence was over, she would present him to her people officially, as an arranged marriage alliance between Dorne and the Reach. She had thought this through. Luckily, Arys's family was one of the major houses of the Reach, so it would be seen this way and not as a marriage for love. She didn't want the Dornish to think that their Princess would just marry on a whim.

While thinking about all this, the queen's ship had dropped anchor and they were disembarking it.

Daenerys Targaryen was beautiful. She had heard the rumors, but they were no exaggeration. Her hair was silver and her eyes lilac. To her hand was clutching her rumored son, close to whom was flying a smaller dragon. That dragon was beautiful. Its jaw was more squarish than that of the bigger dragons, with small horns protruding from each side. Its scales were gold, flecked with silver. Its eyes were lilac, just like the boy, who was the spitting image of his mother.

Behind them walked Varys, the spymaster, Tyrion Lannister, who looked relieved to see his brother and niece, as well as two people with darker complexion, one woman and a man in black armor.

"Greetings, your Grace!", Arianne addressed them. "Ourselves and the people of Dorne have the privilege to welcome you back to Westeros.", she introduced each of them and led her guests to Sunspear, accompanied by the cheer of the crowds. Refreshments were in order. The weather was quite hot, though the queen didn't seem to mind.

The dragons flew overhead and Arianne was glad that they didn't burn anything or eat anyone. She had guessed that they were under the queen's control, but still she had been worried about that.

She let them to Sunspear's hall, where they would dine and discuss with all their allies.

She was almost overwhelmed at the welcome she received from the small town. So many people cheering for her. Daenerys wasn't blind. She knew that it wouldn't be the same everywhere. Not everyone was drinking 'secret toasts to her health' as some people had been telling her brother, back when she was younger and almost as naïve as he used to be. Still, it made her happy. Vaelor, usually shy, was quite cheerful at that as well.

The Princess of Dorne had prepared for them a small feast. Some of the food was quite spicy and she was worried that Vaelor might not like it, but surprisingly enough, he enjoyed it a lot. _Fire cannot kill a dragon._ And it seems that applies for a dragon's appetite as well.

After Vaelor was done with his dinner, she ordered for him to be taken to the guest chambers, assigned for him by their host. It was time for the grown ups to talk. They withdrew to the princess's solar.

"So your Grace, I hope that you would enlighten us as to your battle plans.", asked Obara, the eldest of the Sand Snakes. The girl was a little older than Dany was and acted more like a man than a woman.

"The girl, looking like a boy, speaks true.", quipped lady Olenna. The wizened old woman's remark drew chuckles from some and murmurs from Obara. They didn't call her the Queen of Thorns for nothing. "We thought you might strike directly at the capital, with this sizeable army of yours. Not to mention the dragons."

"I could, but we have different plans for the invasion."

"If we attacked King's Landing now, tens of thousands would die in the firestorms."

Most of those present seemed unconcerned with the innocent casualties.

"I do not plan to become Queen of the ashes, you know."

"That is very good to hear, your grace. But tell me, what is your plan then. Perhaps to ask Cersei to just surrender?!", Olenna's barbed tongue struck again.

"I am well aware that if the reputation of Cersei Lannister is true, then that is impossible, but I have a plan."

"We most certainly hope so.", said Ellaria, prince Oberyn's former paramour.

"I am sorry, but perhaps there are people here, other than myself, who have conquered cities before.", quipped in turn Dany, which seemed to please the old lady of Highgarden and make the Dornish women sit on their tongues.

"Good. Listen now. The plan is to take hold of the rest of the country first and then besiege King's Landing. I think that even Cersei Lannister would realize that she has nowhere left to run. Especially if we take her other home from her."

"Casterly Rock?" The idea seemed well liked by the dornish.

"Forgive me, but I believe that Cersei would rather burn the entire city to cinder rather than let you have it, or her. She knows that defeat means death for her."

"You speak true, lady Olenna.", responded Tyrion. "She could too. By all accounts the explosion in the sept was done by wildfire."

"The Mad king had hidden caches of wildfire all over the city. He planned to do something similar to what you describe.", said Jaime Lannister, her father's killer, who finally joined in on the conversation. She had to have a word with him later.

"Assuming that the caches are still where they were back then, the whole city is a giant death trap. We would have to eliminate Cersei before she can trigger it.", said Varys.

"Which is where you come in.", said Tyrion, pointing to the Sand Snakes.

"You want us to sneak into the city undetected and kill the Cersei, the Mountain and everyone else in power mad enough to do that. It would be our pleasure.", said Tyene Sand.

"But there would be her Queensguard all around her. How would we sneak past them?", asked Ellaria Sand.

"We will draw out their attention, I assure you. The Sand Snakes' primary task would be to observe Cersei and pick their timing properly. Stopping the wildfire from consuming the city would be our primary concern. Breaching the city's defenses would be a simple task for my armies. But you would have to be able to strike fast."

"It will be done.", simply said Obara.

And so the meeting concluded.

Jaime was walking in the gardens. After that diner, he wanted to clear his head. He was at war with his sister. But he had to. Cersei was a poisonous influence. He knew it now. How could she do it? How had the woman he loved, turned into the man, because of whom they now called him Kingslayer? Her action had driven their boy to suicide. Jaime never cared for Joffrey. He was a prick, who was starting to resemble Aerys. Just like his mother was starting to now. But he loved both Tommen and Myrcella. And now Myrcella was the last of his children. And her future was uncertain. What would this dragon queen do with her? She was harmless, but...

"I am sorry for disturbing you, but I wanted to have a word with you.", suddenly, as if she had heard his thoughts, Daenerys Targaryen, accompanied by ser Barristan Selmy, came out of nowhere.

"Your grace. Ser Barristan."

"Ser Jaime.", the old knight addressed him as well. He had admired that man so much, once upon a time.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to thank you."

"For what?", asked Jaime, bewildered by her response.

"For stopping my father. Your brother told me everything. I understand that people have unjustly scorned you, for breaking your vows to him. But if you hadn't done it, hundreds of thousands of people would be dead by now. I know what he did. I know the mad king earned his name."

Jaime was going numb. Did she just thank him for that? She was the first person who had thanked Jaime for his finest deed. No one had done it. The honorable lord Eddard Stark had taken only a single look at him and named him kingslayer. The name stuck, his honor was considered garbage. Though, in all honesty, it might have been Jaime's fault, for telling no one the truth, but still...

"I...do not know what to say. So, I take it you will not have my head?!"

"No, I will not. Unless, you decide to aid your sister, that is."

"Worry not, your grace. My sister is beyond salvation. I know it. Looking after Myrcella is my only priority now." It was true. Jaime could no longer recognize the woman he loved, the mother of his children, his twin sister.

"Good. I know that back then you were left with an impossible choice - to obey your Kingsguard vows or your knightly vows. You did the right thing. You are a good man, ser Jaime.", said the queen.

"And maybe even - a true knight.", added the legendary knight. They almost reduced Jaime to tears. To find acceptance in one of his idols, after all these years. "A true knight guards the innocent, too. You should have said something back then. Why didn't you?"

"I...I don't know. So...what is to become of me and my...daughter?"

"I have discussed this with your brother and we have decided that after the war is over, you will be named Lord of Casterly Rock. Your daughter would be legitimized as Myrcella Lannister, your sole heir. She and prince Trystane Martell, her future husband, shall inherit it after you die. I hope this act will seal the rift between your family and the rest of the realm."

After telling him this, the queen and ser Barristan excused themselves and left him alone, after the Tyrells and the dornish princess entered the gardens as well.

This was beyond anything he had expected. He thought that the best he could hope for was a quick death. And yet, this woman, this queen...she thanked him for killing her father, for saving the common people, for doing what was right.

_Does Westeros even deserve such a monarch?_ Jaime couldn't help, but wonder.

One of his little birds had found him and whispered something to Varys, after the meeting had dispersed. He hurried to inform the queen. This could change their plans.

She was standing in the gardens, talking to Olenna and Margaery Tyrell and the Dornish Princess, while being guarded by ser Barristan.

"My queen, forgive me, but I have received some very urgent and troubling news."

"What is it?"

"It appears that Cersei has made alliances of her own. One with Euron Greyjoy, Yara's uncle and King of the Iron Islands, and even Randyll Tarly."

"Isn't Lord Randyll one of the Tyrell's bannermen?", asked the Lady of Sunspear.

"Not any longer. It seems that he has allied himself with Cersei in exchange for lordship over the Reach."

"What? This is treason." The Queen of Thorns butted in. "I would write to my son to prepare his defense in Highgarden, elsewise I fear you might find yourself without a betrothed, my dear."

"Is the man poised to attack Highgarden directly?", asked Jaime Lannister, who just approached them.

"Most likely. Soon his forces would be joined by the Lannister armies. And unfortunately, Euron Greyjoy's massive new fleet of 1000 ships means travelling by sea would be very dangerous from now on."

"Your Grace, this must be answered **fiercely**.", said Margaery Tyrell.

"Indeed it must. It seems that we would have to hurry. I shall march as many of my Dothraki as I can and my dragons towards Highgarden. It seems we would have to teach lord Tarly the error of his traitorous ways."

The day after tomorrow, the queen and much of her retinue left for Highgarden to do just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - The Battle of Highgarden and a glimpse of the events in the North.


	4. Hell in high heels

**Close to Highgarden, The Reach**

Randyll's men had been about it for weeks. It was a tedious job and hardly a quick one, but it had to be done. The queen's orders.

After he had been sent a letter of summons by queen Cersei, he knew he had to come to the capital. She was the queen. He had to. It was his duty, crown first, other allegiances second. The other lords who came refused her and left as swiftly as possible, but he listened.

_Foreign invader. Dothraki horde. The Mad King's Daughter._

He knew he had to protect the realm. And in return for his services, he was promised the Reach. To become Warden of the South. Some would call him traitor, but it was the Tyrells who were the traitors. For allying themselves with this foreign whore and before that - for betraying their lords - House Gardener. They were up-jumped stewards, nothing more. Some choose to forget, but he knew. He knew that is what the Tyrells were - stewards, who shitted on whatever honor they had, when they sold the Reach to the Conqueror in exchange for Highgarden. 

And House Tarly was done serving cravens and schemers. It was time for Randyll to fix all that was wrong with the Reach, the same way that he cleaned his own house - by purging weakness.

The queen had ordered that the harvests be brought to feed the capital and to besiege Highgarden. He had been doing just that. His and the Lannister's army were done with the acquisition of the harvest and soon a convoy was about to march for King's Landing with all of it. 

Now it was time to besiege Highgarden. That would not be easy. 

The castle was surrounded by three walls, which increased in height. Between the outer and inner walls, there is a briar labyrinth which serves as both an entertainment for guests and as an obstacle for invaders. 

Still, he expected to take it within a few days. He had sent an advanced force to besiege the castle and shoot down any ravens, that flew from it. To isolate them, while he did the rest of his task. And now was the time to invade it proper.

8000 of his own troops and 10000 Lannister men, led by some cousin of the queen. The man was not the best company, but able. That was enough.

"Father." addressed him Dickon, his son, who he had brought with him. "The convoy has set off with the captured harvests for the capital."

"Good. Then it is time to storm the castle."

"But father...aren't the Tyrells our liege lords?"

"Silly boy. I explained it to you. They are traitors to the realm. It is our duty to remove them from power. The queen's orders."

Randyll was tired of explaining the same thing to his son over and over. He was a good boy, but he still got confused with politics.

Suddenly, he heard something.

Something in the distance.

Screams, the sound of hooves. Horses. Many horses.

Oh, no. They are here.

"Sound the horns! Men, form a line! Form a line NOW!", he started barking orders at his men and the rest of the military commanders there followed suit. He had to commend his men, for the speed, with which they formed a spear line. 

Randyll knew what was coming. The Dothraki screamers. They could be heard from afar by their battle cries. They were cavalry, the lot of them. Skilled riders, skilled fighters. His men and the Lannisters' were seasoned soldiers. They should be fine, even under the pressure of the foreigners. He could see some of the men shaking in fear. Few, fortunately. 

_But, will they be enough?_ Randyll didn't know just how many Screamers they were dealing with. But he soon learned.

He started seeing them in the distance, approaching fast. There were so many of them. 30, no 40 thousand. More. Probably more.

But they would hold. They had to. 

But, where was the foreign queen that led them? _Where are the dragons?_

A deafening roar gave him the answer. A roar, Randyll hadn't heard before. And then it dived from above the clouds, taking a leadership position ahead of the horde. A massive black dragon, ridden by a person with long silver hair. _The Dragon Queen._

The Dothraki moved out of her way, as her dragon dived towards the defenders and shot a jet of flames from its mouth.

It was deafening. The men were screaming. If Randyll and his son hadn't been in the rear, they would be ash along with the center of the shield line.

The Dothraki broke through the remnants of their shield-spear wall like it was made of sheep, slaughtering everyone in their path. 

His vision was blurred by all the ash and the flames. He lost track of his son. All he could see was carnage - men burning, men being butchered, men dying. Screams. 

The archers tried to shoot arrows at the flying beast, but that did nothing to it. They bounced right off of its scales.

"Get to the scorpion. GET TO THE SCORPION NOW!", he heard the Lannister commander shout to his men. It was a weapon, designed by the Queen's hand, to kill the dragons. 

The soldiers ran for it, but Randyll lost track of their location, when a bunch of horse lords ran over the people in the man's vicinity.

Randyll tried to fight them. He managed to kill five of them, while still on their horses, when another Dothraki ran just past him and killed Randyll's horse by slashing through its side.

The lord of Horn Hill fell on the ground with a thud and lost consciousness.

* * *

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

A king. King in the North. How could Ned Stark's bastard son become king in the North? Surely, the gods were japing. 

Alas, that was not the case. 

After the Battle of the Bastards, the lords of the North were gathered here, in Winterfell, to reaffirm their allegiance to House Stark. Back then, Jon knew that House Stark needed a face. A lord.

He thought, it would be Rickon, who they had rescued from the Boltons. Sure, Rickon was young, a boy of three-and-ten, but he would be guided. Jon would teach him skill at arms, Sansa - politics and Domeric would teach him how to ride a horse. Rickon was the last legitimate son of Ned Stark. Robb was dead. Bran was beyond the Wall, doing gods know what. It should have been so.

Then why did the lords of the North get up from their seats and start chanting: 'King in the North', King in the North', King in the North'?

Jon was made king. But Jon didn't want to be king. The last man who was crowned by these old men, ended up butchered at a wedding. 

Still, what was done was done.

They had made several things to secure the family's future. 

Jon had officially married Ygritte, as a way to unite the Free Folk and the Northmen. Not that Jon and Ygritte minded. Actually, according to wildling tradition, they were already married. Jon was so happy to be reunited with her. It broke his heart for having to lie to her and to betray her like he did. But it was all in the past now. They were happy now, once more. Many Northmen still grumble about the wildlings, and their wildling queen, but what of it? They would get used to their new neighbors and their queen. They crowned him.

Jon's status as a bastard was an odd case. He could simply legitimize himself, but that would only cause more trouble. So, Sansa, Ygritte, Dom, Rickon and Jon decided that after the war against the dead was over, if they survived that is, Rickon would replace Jon, with Sansa and Dom as regents. They even arranged the betrothal between Rickon and Lyanna Mormont.

Until then, Jon would lead them through the Long Night. He had to, he was the only man here, who knew what they were dealing with.

Not that the dead were their only concern right now. Strange enough, they had three more pressing concerns:

\- Petyr Baelish, a schemer, who lusts for Sansa and is right in their home. A man who left unchecked was quite dangerous.

\- Cersei Lannister, the queen on the Iron Throne, who despised them and wouldn't stop plotting against them.

\- And the Dragon queen. 

The first two - the schemers, who plotted against his family were not for him to deal with. He had left worrying about them to Sansa. Jon had the Night King In his sights and knew he was the real threat - to all the living - men, women, children, farmers and kings. They were all the same to him - meat for his army.

But this Dragon Queen. They had discussed it with ser Davos and Sansa. Dragons would be invaluable against the wights.  
And her massive armies.  
What worried Jon was that after all the wars, the North has been through, they lacked the men to fight the Others. They had the knights of the Vale, sure, but that wasn't enough. They needed more men.

Sansa was so happy to finally be back at Winterfell. Sure she came here before, when the Boltons had it. But now, with the Stark banners, it felt like home again. She was married to Dom. And even though he was a Bolton, she loved him. He was nothing like his father and bastard brother, Domeric Bolton was a kind and gentle man. He was not some violent brute or some hellish schemer. He was just her husband. He loved her. And she loved him.

There were some in Winterfell, who scorned her loving the new Lord of the Dreadfort, given that he was from the same family, which had betrayed the Starks, but when they said it in the Great hall, Jon replied: 

_And where were most of you when we fought against Ramsey? Domeric Bolton was fighting beside me for my sister, who he loves, and for my brother. Where were you, back then, my lords?_

That was enough to shut most of them up. She wanted to live together with her family in Winterfell, in peace. Alas, there was this army of the dead. And she trusted Jon about it. 

Not to mention Baelish and Cersei.

Cersei was down south. Sansa knew that Cersei had neither the men nor the means to send an army to Winterfell, but she knew her. She knew that Cersei Lannister wouldn't stop until the Starks were all gone. They couldn't afford to forget about her. The Night king would either kill them all or be defeated by them. Cersei Lannister was a more unpredictable opponent.

Baelish, too, for that matter.

"Stop worrying your head Sansa.", said her husband, while hugging her from behind. "Somehow, everything would fall into place. Have faith. Look how far we have gone."

"You always know what to say Dom. But the threat remains. We can't loose track of our enemies."

"I know, I know. I just want to finally be able to live in peace with you. I really just want for all this to be over already."

"I know, my love. So do I."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Well, you can help me figure out how to handle Baelish, without losing the support of the Vale."

"Expose his crimes. I have spend years living in the Vale, Sansa. These men are honorable and they loved Jon Arryn. If what you are telling me is true, then the lords of the Vale would want justice. For Lysa and Jon Arryn. And for your father. For everyone. That man has singlehandedly thrown the whole realm into a civil war."

"I know, but how can I figure out whether they are not in his pocket?"

"Ask them."

"That...what if we ask the wrong person?"

"Who is the most powerful amongst the Valemen?"

"Baelish, he is the lord protector."

"The second most powerful man?"

"Lord Royce, I imagine. But what does that have to do with..."

"Lord Yohn Royce is the head of one of the oldest families in Westeros. The oldest one in the Vale. They were kings long before the Andals ever set foot in Westeros. Do you think that proud, old lord Royce would want to listen to a new man like Petyr Baelish, who rose to his position, solely due to favors and dishonesty?"

He is right. Dom is not just a pretty face, it seems.

"You are right. It might work. I should go talk with him."

"No, Sansa. Let me. If Baelish suspects, you might be in danger."

"Fine, just promise me to be careful."

"I will. See you later, my red wolf."

Jon was the white wolf, Sansa - the red wolf and Rickon - the younger wolf. What was with people and monikers these days? She liked hers, but still... 

Sansa couldn't help but giggle, just like she used to, before all the horrible things happened.

Was it wrong to be happy during war? Maybe, but she cared not. Dom was right. Everything was going to be alright.

They would destroy all of their enemies to make it so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - A lone wolf finds its way back to the pack and Winterfell is buzzing.


	5. A Pack Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Arya is back. After a good catch up, Jon leaves to search for allies:)

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

Finally. Arya was home. She had travelled all over the Riverlands, then the Vale and even all the way to Braavos and back. She was a lone wolf no more.

After killing all the Frey men, those despicable degenerates, who butchered her mother and brother and all their men, she was heading for the capital. She wanted to remove the final two names on her list - Cersei and the Mountain. 

On the way there, she passed through the Crossroads inn, where she met Hot Pie, who told her the most amazing thing. The family, she believed gone, was alive and well, back in Winterfell. Her reason to live was renewed.

Back in Braavos, she had almost lost herself by becoming 'no one'. On her trip back from Braavos, she had been thinking on it. To loose her sense of self, so that she would be a blank, effectively being able to become everyone. She didn't think she wanted to remember her past, her lost family and home. All the tragedies. It didn't sound bad.

Luckily, she managed to find herself. Her desire for revenge, her own brand of bloody justice, had prevailed over the Faceless' programming and had saved her. 

Now, that was not the only thing. Her love for her family had been helping her, too.

After the Crossroads Inn, she decided to postpone her revenge in order to get back to them - Jon, Sansa and Rickon. 

_Haaa, I miss them all. Even Sansa._ And Jon - he was king. Her brooding bastard brother was king. She just had to get back, at least to see this crazy king.

"We will soon be there girl.", she said to Nymeria. Yes, she had found her in the Riverlands. Her direwolf, who she had lost long ago, was back. Arya had heard rumors across the Riverlands of a giant wolf, that was wondering the land and she wanted to see for herself. When she had found her, Nymeria was quite wild and had almost attacked her. Soon enough though, she had recognized Arya and had rejoined her.

Nymeria and Arya Stark were back together again.

Crossing the Neck had been a pain. Bogs and swamps were difficult to travers. She almost drowned there a couple of times. Once, she even had to come to Nymeria's rescue. Direwolves weren't better at swimming through the swamps than humans were.

The North was covered in snow already. Her house's words no longer applied. Winter wasn't coming, it was already here.

Eventually, she had caught Winterfell within sight. It was just as she had remembered it. At least it looked the same. 

When she reached the gate, the guards didn't recognize her. And the whole world believing her dead, didn't help. Luckily, in the yard she saw a familiar face.

"Oi, Sansa!", she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Guess, who is home."

Her look of surprise was quite obvious and the guards had offered to escort her out of there. _As if you can actually do that._ Arya had to actively suppress a smirk coming to her face.

Unlike ever before, the two sisters were so happy to see each other, that they hugged immediately.

"Gods I missed you, Arya. I...we though you were dead."

"And yet here I am. Don't sound so disappointed."

"Shut up. Just shut up. Don't ruin the moment."

Arya, like never, listened to her.

After they let go of each other, she brought her to Jon. 

"Look who decided to join us for lunch."

"Arya! Seven hells.", a familiar scene followed. All these hugging had been getting on her nerves. 

After that, they sat down to eat. She filled them in on her travels, but not on all the details, obviously. Her family wasn't ready for all that. They, in turn, filled her in on the defeat of the Boltons, the alliances with the wildlings and the threat of the White Walkers. It was a lot to take in...to say the least.

"So Jon is married to a wildling and Sansa to a Bolton. How?"

"It is a long story.", answered simply Jon.

"I love him. And this one loves his sister. That's all.", answered Ygritte, Jon's queen. The wildling woman had a red hair, even redder that Sansa's. Otherwise she was skinny, but obviously well built. Not the greatest of beauties, but not bad to look upon.

"Well, apparently it wasn't so long.", said Jon and they all laughed.

"And you.", Arya pointed her fork at the lord of the Dreadfort. "If you hurt her..."

"You will kill me. Yes, I know. But fear not, my lady, for Jon has already promised me that. No need to worry yourself." Domeric Bolton interrupted her before she could finish her threat. She was not worried though. She knew that if his feelings for Sansa weren't real, Jon would have killed him long ago. The last Bolton wasn't bad to look upon either. Well built, not too muscular, but well built. Slim, with black hair, running to his shoulders and his father's pale blue eyes.

"I am glad to see you are all well. I though you were...you know."

"We know. Arya, I am just happy that our family is getting back together. Who knows?! Maybe Bran would return one day, too." assured her Sansa.

"I just wish that I was here earlier."

"Don't worry. We handled ourselves quite well.", said Jon.

"Wait a minute. If you are here, too Rickon, then where is Bran?"

"Well," Rickon began explaining. " after we escaped from Theon during his occupation of Winterfell, he burned two farm boys and presented them as us. I don't know why. Afterwards, we decided that it would be best for us to separate. I and Osha went to Last Hearth, where from guests of the Greatjon, we turned into hostages of the Smalljon, when the Greatjon passed away. Bran, on the other hand, went beyond the Wall."

"Why?", asked Arya. That was not a safe place for a cripple.

"He went with the Reed siblings. He had visions. He could enter Summer's mind and even control the body of Hodor. Jojen Reed also had visions and told him that they would find their answers beyond the Wall."

Arya couldn't understand half of this, but considering that she got involved with a guild of shapeshifting assassins, she wasn't one to judge.

After getting reunited with Arya, Jon was more than certain that ever. He had to go south. News reached them slower here so Arya brought with her quite a lot of information. She said that this Dragon queen was famous throughout the eastern continent for liberating slaves and doing all sorts of amazing feats. She had conquered the hub of slavery, Slaver's bay, and banned slavery there. This Daenerys Targaryen now had three large dragons and an army of apparently over 100 000 men. Arya had heard of all this from travelling merchants in the Crossroads inn, so it wasn't too reliable, but still...

Arya also seemed to be quite the admirer of this Mother of Dragons.

"She is our age and already an experienced conqueror, the warlord of a large army. Don't make an enemy of her Jon. She could be our ally."

"Yes, we get it. You admire her.", said Sansa, a bit weary of listening to her younger sister's rambling.

"But its true Sansa. When I was in Braavos, I heard all about her. She is young, just a little older than us, and she has achieved so much, starting with almost nothing."

"She had her name.", retorted Sansa.

"And that's it. Nobody in Essos cares about Westerosi names, trust me."

"I get it Arya. She does sound amazing, but you do realize that she could become our enemy, right?"

"Not necessarily.", added Jon. "We would need her help in order to win. We would need all the help we can get to defeat the army of the dead. She has more men than we currently have. And dragons, too."

"I know what you want to do Jon. But you know that going there is going to be dangerous.", said Sansa.

"I know, I know. But nowhere near as dangerous, as it will be to fight the army of the dead without her."

"Then what? Should we also ask Cersei for help?", sardonically asked Sansa.

"No, but... One thing at a time. Alright? First we need dragonglass. According to the information we have, there are no mines for obsidian in the North. But there is a massive one on Dragonstone, according to what Samwell has sent me.", answered Jon.

"Last I heard, Daenerys Targaryen is in the Reach, having made Highgarden her temporary headquarters.", said Arya. One could learn a lot in an inn, it seemed.

"The dragonglass is on Dragonstone island, right? Well, it was left uninhabited after Stannis left for the Wall. We should sent a ship there and then visit Daenerys.", said Jon.

"Sounds good.", said Sansa. "Assuming that neither Cersei nor Daenerys has occupied the island. And after you get to Daenerys, then what? Beg for help?"

"If need be."

"Jon, you are a king. Offer an alliance with her. At first, at least. Against the army of the dead. After everything is over, we will see what we do.", said Sansa.

"Alright then. Who comes with me?"

"I obviously.", said Ygritte.

"You should get plenty of guards with yourselves."

"I want to go, too.", said Arya, almost sounding like a little girl again.

"No, I need you here.", said firmly Sansa.

The matter was settled. On the next day, Jon and the family informed the lords of the North of their decision. There was a lot of murmuring and calls for the King in the North to stay in the North, but eventually they yielded. They had to do it. It was a fact and Jon wouldn't let pride or the potential danger, to stop him.

Jon and Ygritte would leave soon for White harbor, to catch a ship, while Sansa was left as regent, until he returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - the aftermath of the Battle of the Goldroad and King's Landing.


	6. Two Queens, One Throne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a battle and a glimpse in the mind of one truly mad queen.

**Highgarden, The Reach**

Ash and screams. That was all they could understand from the battle for Highgarden. Loras had been besieged by Randyll Tarly's forces for a while now and they had shot down any raven, he had sent. All the while he was stealing their harvests for the bitch queen in King's Landing. Loras and Margaery had barely managed to escape the destruction of the great sept, all orchestrated by that mad woman. 

Now, she wanted to destroy his house, his family.

"So much for the mighty Lannister army, it seems.", quipped his grandmother, the true ruler of house Tyrell. "It seems that the famed military commander, has finally lost. Not that he had any chance to begin with."

The battle, or massacre rather, lasted less than an hour. He saw the infinite horde of Dothraki screamers charging from the east at the Lannister-Tarly forces and destroying them with ruthless efficiency. The queen had unleashed her dragon's fury at the enemy to a devastating result. 

"She didn't really need the Dothraki to crush him, did she?", asked Margaery.

"No, but our queen likes to put on a show.", answered Tyrion Lanniser, the Queen's hand.

"So it seems. I think that the realm needed another Field of Fire. To show what happens to traitors. Don't you agree, Loras?", asked the Queen of Thorns.

"Yes, grandmother."

"It seems you would have to be very careful not to anger your future wife brother.", said Margaery.

"Yes, she already burned alive one husband, just saying.", quipped Yara Greyjoy, the self-proclaimed Queen of the Iron Islands.

Loras was a knight, but he was being groomed for lordship since he was old enough to hold a pike. Still, in his family, it has always been the practice for the women to take the important decisions, so Loras didn't mind obeying his wife all that much.

_Rather, I don't even want to think about making that woman angry. She did all this with just one of her dragons. And from what Loras had heard, she had three more. Who, apart from Cersei Lannister of course, would be mad enough to oppose her?_

They knew that the massacre was over, after her dragon stopped breathing fire at the soldiers. She had won in minutes.

Daenerys's victory was easy. Not only that she had the numerical advantage, but she also had Drogon. The only moment that she was worried was when a giant lance-like object almost hit her, from some strange weapon. She quickly destroyed that wooden contraption and mercilessly dealt with the enemies. She had also sent her freedmen companies and about 10000 Dothraki to secure the harvest, stolen by the traitors. From what she heard, they were ordered to bring it to Cersei, for her to feed the city.

_It's even better, then. Starving out the city into submission would be simpler._

Dany had brought her captives, the few survivors, back to Highgarden for the Tyrells' judgement. The Lannisters she would handle herself, but this Randyll Tarly and his son were vassals to the Tyrells. 

Highgarden was a magnificent castle. It was beautiful. Truly. Gardens with all kinds of flowers and rare plants all over. Groves fountains and courtyards. The Keep is decorated with statues and colonnades. The castle's structures are covered in ivy, grapes and climbing roses. Stunning. Just stunning.

The Great hall of the Tyrells was beautiful. The throne was made at the base of a tree. The throne was the three. Margaery had told her all about the castle, on the way here. Apparently, the previous 'living' throne was cut down by the Dornish, during the reign of a weak king. The old tree throne was planted by the legendary Garth Greenhand. The new one was planted a thousand years ago, give or take, by Mern VI Gardener. Fascinating, truly.

Since she was queen, and soon to be wife to the lord of Highgarden - Loras Tyrell, she was allowed to sit on it, when they judged the criminals. Loras was very handsome, indeed. Tall, lean and muscular. Nowhere near as Drogo was, but not bad. He would be her consort, so the fact that he looked well, certainly was a bonus. All she needed to now, was bond with him and, one way or another, to...housetrain her future husband. She wanted him to know, who would have the true power in their marriage.

Present with her were the Tyrells as well as her other allies, even the Dornish. She knew of the ancient feuds between the Reach and Dorne and if enmity existed, they didn't show it.

Randyll Tarly and his son as well as the Lannister commander - ser Daven Lannister. 

"My lords, you are guilty of high treason against the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms and the Tarlys for treason against their liege lords as well. How do you plead?", said Tyrion.

"This is no treason against the rightful queen. The rightful queen is in King's Landing.", said lord Randyll. The nerve..."Furthermore the Tyrells have besmirched the honor of the Reach with their plots and cowardice."

"Seriously?!", asked her future husband. "That coming from a traitor and a rebel. What right does Cersei have over the Iron throne? Please, explain it to me. Her only connection to it, comes from the fact that her husband, whom she conspired to have killed, and her dead sons, had been kings. She even caused poor Tommen's suicide. She is not only an evil woman, but also a bad mother and a bad wife. And to think that father wanted me to marry her."

Oh, yes. Tyrion had told her of that brief engagement of theirs.

"There are no easy choices in war.", simply replied Tarly. "I choose to fight the foreign invader in order to defend my country. That is all."

"I understand the desire to protect your country, my lord." finally said Dany. "But I assure you, that the real threat to it comes from the inept rule of Cersei Lannister. I didn't come to destroy. I came to liberate. As I have always done for those suffering under tyrants."

"I do not believe you."

"It doesn't matter what you believe, my lord. You are a traitor to your lieges and your fate is sealed."

"Off with his head.", said Olenna Tyrell. That old woman had a way with words. _The Queen of Thorns, indeed._

"What about my son?"

"I believe that a few weeks in our dungeons would make him understand the error of his father's ways.", said Margaery. "He is after all a young man."

"I would rather die by my father's side.", responded Dickon Tarly.

"You do not deserve to die for your father's sins, ser. Otherwise, all of us would be for the chopping block.", said Dany.

After dealing with the Tarlys, remained Tyrion's cousin.

"So cousin. What would you do?"

"I have options?! Between burning alive or being beheaded, I suppose."

"That was about making an example. This way, other potential traitors would think twice about rebelling. In a way, I am saving lives this way.", responded Dany. She knew that it sounded off, but she knew that she had to bear out her fangs every once in a while, in order to deter any potential traitors. It was for the best.

"Your options cousin are to bend the knee or die.", said Jaime.

"Bend the knee to you or to your foreign queen?"

"She is a better queen than my sister could ever hope to be. Not that she hopes, mind you. She doesn't give a fig about the realm. Only about her own personal obsession with power.", angrily responded ser Jaime. How wretched must that woman be, for her to inspire such hatred in her own siblings?

"I am not blind to her faults. I know what she is. And what happens if I do so? What happens to our house, once this war ends?"

"Everything returns to normal. I am the rightful lord of Casterly Rock. Myrcella will rule after me. House Lannister isn't being destroyed, cousin. It is regaining its honor." She had chosen well in ser Jaime. This was a good man. For Cersei, and those who follow her, this was a war for survival. She had to make it known, that only Cersei was to die.

"Fine.", Daven Lannister knelt, after a brief moment of thought. "I swear my fealty to you, cousin, and your queen. I hope I do not live to rue this day."

* * *

**King's Landing, Crownlands**

"Arghh." Cersei was mad with rage. She just wanted to break things. Her glass of wine, the bottle, the whole fucking world. Her idiotic brother, her daughter and now her cousin. Was there no one in her godsforsaken family she could trust?

She had allied herself with the Ironborn king, Euron Greyjoy, to gain access to his massive fleet of ships. And for what? She is on land. What use are ships on land?

His stinking people weren't much of an army either. And she had married that pirate.

"Aaarghhh.", she threw a chair through the balcony of her chambers that fell on a guard downstairs. Not that she cared whether she had hurt him or not.

"The lioness doesn't concern herself with the opinions of the sheep."

And those fuckers had allied themselves to that fucking white haired bitch. 

"Are they fucking her? The little slut must be moaning even now as she sucks my Jaime's cock, while my little brother is fucking her arse and Daven, that hairy bastard, is shagging her cunt. The slut. Foreign bitch. WHORE."

Yes, the _valonqar_. "Little brother" in High Valyrian. The prophesy of Maggy the frog. It was happening. She was going to loose it all to a younger and more beautiful queen. "NOOOO."

"My Jaime. I need you." She broke down sobbing. "My Jaime. I need you inside me. We are meant to be one. Just the two of us."

She lay on the floor, sobbing and sniffing, unable to comprehend why everyone was betraying her. 

"The little whore in Winterfell, that wolf bitch, must be having the time of her life, too, getting fucked by the rowdy northmen. Ned Stark's bastard son, who had the audacity to call himself king, among them. 

"Yes, those wildlings must be breaking her in, even as we speak. And the knights of the Vale must be taking turns raping her. Otherwise, why would her subjects ally with those traitors? TRAITORS. USURPERS. Arrgghhh."

Her fury for those who would usurp her gave her strength. 

"NO, I will not LOSE. Oh, when I get my hands on their soft little necks. I will squeeze and squeeze, until they are half dead. And then I will have each and every single stinking peasant in the realm take turns raping them, until no one can even remember they were human once. Only then, would I allow them to die, slowly in agonizing pain. AAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

She crawled to the balcony and got herself up. "If I can't have it, no one will." 

No thief would steal her kingdoms. Not after all she has sacrificed for them.

"Summon Qyburn.", she ordered her guard and the loyal man came.

"Yes, my queen." the guard ran off to do his duty.

"Is the wildfire in place?", she asked her servant, once he came.

"Yes, my queen. Whenever you give the order, your servants are ready to execute the wildfire plot."

"Good. Good.", let the ginger and the silver haired whores be queens of the ashes and the smoldering ruins. That is all she would give them. The thought of all that she would do to her enemies had made her moist. She needed relief.

"Call for my husband." She had married the ironborn leader, she would never lower herself enough to call a man beneath her _king_.

He had wanted to marry the queen and the most beautiful woman in the world. That was surely her. Who else would fit the description?

"You summoned me, my wife.", Euron came soon after that. The jovial crazy ironborn pirate. With that cheeky smile, but she would graciously choose to ignore that.

"Yes, remove your clothes. I command you to fuck me."

She didn't want him to believe it was his choice. No, it was hers. He was _her_ plaything. Not she his.

_I am in control._ Kept thinking Cersei, while he was pounding her nether regions, with a cocky smile on his face. _I am in control. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel some sort of pride over my description of Cersei's mind. I though that the show had made her appear too sane, so here is a correction in behavior. Tell me what you think through the comments:)
> 
> Next - Winterfell and Jon's journey to Dany.


	7. The Road is Not the Goal

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

Domeric's day was quite busy. He and Sansa barely had time for each other. With Jon gone, it fell to them to rule their kingdom, until his return. Easier said than done. Dom half-suspected that the reason Jon left on his diplomatic mission was so that he could get away from all this.

They had to keep preparing for the second Long Night. That didn't include much without dragonglass, but they prepared other things. They manned the Wall better, sending the wildlings to Castle Black, as well as some of their other men. The reason that they held back most of the few men they had was, because of their fears that the Others would breach the Wall somehow. Dom suspected that this was an unlikely scenario since if they could, they would have done so by now. From what the wildlings and their researches told him, the wights, who must consisted of every dead person, whose corpse is more or less intact, should be 100 000, at least. The knights of the Vale, who came her, were about 2000. The Northmen, they had were about 5000, give or take. The resent wars had greatly lowered the North's military. That meant, they have less than 10000 men. In other words - not enough.

Then, there was keeping the lords in line. Most of them didn't agree with Jon leaving. He was a king, so he shouldn't just go around like an ambassador. They wanted their king here and because they had made him king, they though he should do as they thought he should. Wrong.  
_It seems they don't even assume that Jon never wanted to be crowned. _

They also didn't trust the dragon queen. The brutal murders of lord Rickard Stark and his heir, done by her father, were still fresh to most of them. Dom, unlike almost everyone else here, wasn't judging her for her father's crimes. After all, that would be hypocritical of Domeric Bolton. They needed the dragon queen's armies to defend themselves from the Night King. They needed her as an ally. Jon's diplomatic mission was vital to their very survival.

Cersei Lannister was a distant problem, as strange as it might sound.

And Lord Baelish was his primary concern today. The man was actively plotting to divide the current leadership of Winterfell. Dom wouldn't underestimate the man who orchestrated the War of the Five Kings. They had to deal with him soon.

Right now, Dom was on his way to meet with lord Royce in a more secluded area of Winterfell.

"My lord.", he greeted the elder man.

"Lord Bolton. I understand you wanted to talk to me about something."

"Yes. How do you feel about the current leadership of House Arryn?" A dangerous question, but he had to ask it. 

After a brief pause and making certain there was indeed no one listening, he said: "House Arryn is currently ruled being ruled by a whoremonger, who has my liege lord wrapped around his finger. Not an enviable situation, I assure you."

"So basically, you are forced to obey someone who is beneath you?" Yes, that was it. Make him angry. Make him a willing ally.

"What if, I could make this problem disappear? Me and my wife, that is."

"How?"

Impatient, are we? Good.

"You will learn soon enough. But when it happens, your support will be needed."

"Very well, my lord. I shall be very grateful to you and your wife, when this happens."

That was easier, than Dom thought it would be.

"Sansa!", she rushed after her sister. Sansa was busy with ruling, Arya knew. They rarely got time to talk in private and now she had finally managed to catch Sansa alone, in Winterfell's library.

"Yes, what is it?" Always in a rush, are we?

"Look, if you don't need me here, why keep me here, instead of going with Jon?"

In truth, she was dying to meet Daenerys. Sansa and Jon were right. She was a great admirer of hers. There were no slaves in Braavos, but one day, a ship filled with escaped slaves from Volantis, had managed to reach the city. Arya, or Cat of the Canals, as she was calling herself undercover back then, had seen them - men and women, with horrific scars upon their flesh. A boy, whose hands were cut off for the sick amusement of his master, was a particularly frightful thing to see.   
Slavery had been nonexistent in Westeros for thousands of years, so that made Arya one of the few people here, who could understand what Daenerys had done in Essos.   
As a child, Arya admired Nymeria of the Rhoynar, now she admired the Dragon queen even more so.

"Not now. But from what Dom told me earlier today, soon enough, I will need your help with Littlefinger."

"So, I will finally be able to erase his name from my list."

"What list?", asked bewildered Sansa.

"Well, since the day father died, I made up a list of all the people that have wronged our family. It became a nightly prayer, of sorts."

"How many people are on that list?"

"Not many now.", Arya admitted. "Most of them are dead already. What do you think happened to the Freys?"

Sansa looked terrified. Perhaps, she shouldn't have shared that part, yet.

"So...that is what happened there.", she said somewhat passively.

"I was going to meet them there.", Arya started reminiscing.

"Who?"

"Robb and mother. I arrived at the Twins shortly before the massacre began. I saw it happen, Sansa. I saw them kill Grey Wind and all the loyal men. I saw them parading around Robb's corpse, with Grey Wind's head sewed in place of his own."

"Arya, I...I heard what had happened, but..."

"I masqueraded as a serving girl to infiltrate the castle. I poisoned all the Frey men and slit Walder Frey's throat myself. I regret none of it."

"Nor should you. They had it coming. After the battle of the bastards, I fed Ramsey Bolton, that monster, to his own hounds."

"Well, that was unexpected from prim, proper lady Sansa.", Arya couldn't help herself. It seems they have both become different. Not colder, but hardened. For the first time ever, Arya felt close to her big sister.

"What I am saying is, if it those who have hurt our family, they deserve it."

"I see. Listen, I want to share something else. I want to tell you all that happened to me in Braavos." She was going to share all of it. No more secrets.

"I am all ears."

* * *

**On the road to Highgarden**

It was a longer trip than he anticipated. Jon has never travelled outside the North, before. Jon and Ygritte took Davos with them in the last minute. The man used to be Hand of the King, or one of them anyways. He would be useful when they finally reached Daenerys Targaryen. First thing they did after sailing off from White harbor, was to go to Dragonstone. They didn't find Daenerys there, but the castle was not uninhabited. There were many men and women there, who were obviously not Westerosi. Some of them had copper skin and long braided hair. _Dothraki._ Others had more olive skin, but most were obviously from all sorts of places. 

The island itself was hardly appealing. Apart from the strange ancient Valyrian stronghold that was Dragonstone, there was nothing interesting here. No dragons either, which worried Jon. They were stopped at the beach.

Most of them knew little to nothing from the common tongue, so Jon and his friends though they were in trouble.

"We are fucked." is what ser Davos had said. Ygritte and Jon agreed. They could by no means take the castle. Too few of them. Not to mention that these people might think they were trespassers and just kill them.

Eventually, a person, one of those in charge maybe, who spoke their language, came to speak to them. The man had darker, almost brown skin, and black curly hair. 

"Who are you?", he said in their tongue.

"We come seeking queen Daenerys Targaryen's help. We seek an audience with her.", said Davos. These foreigners were unlikely to give a fig about Jon's titles, so he purposefully skipped them.

"The queen is not here. She is in a place called Highgarden, last we heard."

"Thank you, for your information."

"Of course. _Mhysa _is a savior. If someone needs help, she helps them. She liberated many of us, who came with her and many more who stayed behind. That is why we are her, to help her in turn."

Jon really hoped the same applied to the northerners as well. 

"Why do you call her Mhysa?", asked Ygritte. That word was unfamiliar to him as well.

"It is in Ghiscari. It means _mother._ For she set us free."

Jon and the others headed for Highgarden. That wouldn't be easy. Highgarden was on the other side of the continent. Davos suggested they travel with their ship to the sea of Dorne, where they could sneak through the Dornish marches. Those were mountains that existed in the place where the borders of the Stormlands, Reach and Dorne met. The journey was arduous, to say the least. The mountains were a tricky terrain, but after a few day, struggling through the goat tracks, they found their way into the Reach.

"Okay, now all that is left is for us to travel northwest towards the Mander river, where it splits into three others. That is where Highgarden is.", said Davos, their guide. Luckily, the old smuggler remembered his roads and tricks and knew Westeros like the back of his hand.

After a few days, during which they had expended the rest of their provisions, they finally made it to Highgarden.

"Oh, so that is a castle.", exclaimed Ygritte.

"You have been to Winterfell. That is a castle, too."

"Your place looks like an old hovel, compared to this one, Jon Snow."

"Our place, Ygritte.", Jon was quick to remind his wife and gave her a deep kiss. This journey so much reminded him of the day they climbed the Wall. They felt the same gratification, when they had finally reached the top.

Still, he had to admit, the castle was gorgeous. So many different kinds of flowers. The castle appeared to be even larger than Winterfell, standing atop a hill. There were even some sort of mazes, made from plants.

They approached the gates.

"Who goes there?", the guard barked at them.

"The King in the North, Jon Snow, and his wife, Ygritte, seek an audience with her Grace, queen Daenerys!"

And so, the most difficult part of his journey south, began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that nothing much happens here, but travelling, for people other than Varys and Baelish, requires time. Most people don't have jetpacks.  
I also wanted to bond the Stark sisters a bit here. And explain Arya's admiration about Dany here.
> 
> Next - Dany and Jon finally meet. A raven returns to his nest.


	8. Meetings And Reunions

**Highgarden, The Reach**

Daenerys's military campaign was going great. She had easily defeated the Lannister armies and gained another member of Cersei's house as an ally. Surely, the Lannister queen's hold over the realm would weaken. And weaken it did. 

Recently, several lords from the Westerlands had come here to pledge fealty to Jaime Lannister - the Rightful lord of Casterly Rock. And indirectly, to herself. They had even brought with them a hostage - Edmure Tully, who along with his wife and newborn son, had been a prisoner at the Rock since the monstrous Red Wedding massacre. She had easily claimed his fealty and had reinstated his house as lords of Riverrun and lords paramount of the Trident. With House Frey apparently extinct, she had basically secured the Riverlands without even setting a foot there. 

Thanks to all this, Cersei had no power, beyond the Crownlands. All that was left was for Dany to take the capital.

Dany still had no idea what to do with the Stormlands, but that was a problem for another time.

The Vale and the North were under the control of the Starks and that was also a problem, but she would deal with it after Cersei.

Now, she wanted to talk with her future husband. She had to establish at least a friendship between the two of them and to make some things clear.

"Ser Loras.", she greeted him in the gardens, where she found him.

"Your Grace. Pleasure to meet you again."

"Likewise, my lord. I assume that you know that we are to be married after all this is over."

"Yes, indeed.", he seemed a bit nervous. Was she so scary?

"Would you like that?", she asked. 

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because of your...preferences. Spare me the lies, my lord. I want our marriage to be based on honesty."

After a brief silence, and his audible gulping, he replied: "Your Grace,...how would we make this work, exactly?"

"I am glad that we are getting on point. I will want more children and you will be my Prince Consort, duties and all, but I am not cruel. I wouldn't force you to do anything, you do not want to do. In fact, I suspect that both of us would have lovers of our own and I am perfectly fine with that, as long as both of us keep them secret. It will be a complicated marriage, but I want what is best for all of us. And I have no desire for either you or I to be miserable for the rest of our lives."

"I am glad that this is the case. I was...worried. You do have a reputation with husbands."

"So does your sister.", she countered.

"Fair point." he was forced to admit. His sister was the widow of three kings.

"Look, my first husband died when I mercy-killed him, after a witch used her foul magic on him. My other husband betrayed me and tried to murder my son. I burned him alive, because I do that to those who threaten me and mine. My point is, as long as you never betray me and never EVER hurt me or mine, you have nothing to fear from me."

"I will never do such a thing. Nor would I ever harm you or your son. But you will have to let me protect your honor too, you know. I am a knight, after all." A man of chivalry, indeed.

"Very well, good ser. Tell me, your sister says that you two used to be imprisoned by the Faith. Why?"

"Because of my...mating habits and because my sister protected me. But mostly, because Cersei wanted to humiliate us, by orchestrating all of that. She restored the Faith militant and their ability to conduct trials by repealing Maegor's laws."

"That woman lives up to her reputation of being a cunt, doesn't she? Don't worry, soon enough she will be no more."

"I have no doubt.", he replied.

"My queen.", came Missandei. "The King in the North has come to beg an audience with you." 

Well, well. It seems that my other problem has come to me. "Ser Loras, would you like to come with me? We have a king to greet."

Loras and herself entered the Great hall of Highgarden. Tyrion, ser Barristan, Vaelor, lady Olenna and Missandei, who just came with them, were also there. Dany sat on the Oakenseat, with Loras sitting on an elaborate chair by her side.

The King in the North was a handsome man. He had black hair and grey eyes, typical for the Starks, from what she had heard. He looked nothing like a king though. The man wore no crown and was dressed in dark leather and a cape, clasped with a button, resembling the Stark sigil. With him was a woman with ginger hair. A skinny woman, who must be his consort, judging by how close she hung to him. She was dressed elegantly, if not a bit modestly by Dany's standards, but for some reason seemed uncomfortable in what she was wearing. There was another man with them, who didn't seem to be a simple guard. The man was older, balding gray hair and it looked like the ends of four fingers on one of his hands were missing. An odd group.

"You stand In the presence of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen the First of her Name, Rightful Queen of The Andals, The Rhoynar and The First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, The Unburnt, Protector of the Freedom of The Bay of Dragons.", announced her Missandei, who listed almost all of her titles.

"This is Jon Snow.", announced the older man. "He is King in the North."

"You couldn't have said something more?", asked him the redhead. 

"Like?"

"Doesn't matter.", said Jon Snow. "Your Grace, I come before you to beg for your aid. The Seven Kingdoms are in peril, unless you help me save them."

"Oh, don't worry Jon Snow.", said Dany, purposefully avoiding his false title. "I am perfectly capable of handling Cersei Lannister and restoring peace to the Realm. I hardly need your help."

"Your Grace, with all due respect this is not the threat that I was referring to. I speak of the enemy to the North. The real enemy - The White Walkers."

"The what now?", asked amused Loras.

"They are real. And if we all don't band together we will die. They are coming for us and they will kill us all and turn us to wights to join their army of the dead."

"Nonsense. Did you come here to spin fairy tales?" And they say, her father was crazy.

"Lord Tyrion, we have met before. Do you think I am mad or a liar?", Snow asked Tyrion.

"No, I do not. But this..."

"Is real and true. If we do not band together we will die and it will matter not whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne.", shouted Snow. The audacity of that...

"Mummy, this is scary.", came to her Vaelor and said quietly. _My poor boy. _Solaris hissed and snarled at this would be king and even blew some flames at him.

"Do not worry, dear. Mummy will burn all the scary people. Missandei, please take Vaelor to his chambers.", said Dany sternly. This Jon Snow won't live long with this attitude.

Vaelor, Solaris and Missandei left the room. Now, Dany could show her frustrations more openly.

"How dare you to come here and scare my boy with your idiotic tales? If you are in such a rush to die, then just kill yourself. For what I would do to you, would be far more excrutiating." Dany was furious. Her blood boiling with rage. Even her dragons could be heard roaring from the outside. 

"That is a hell of a diplomatic approach, Jon Snow.", quipped lady Olenna.

"I am sorry for frightening your boy, your Grace. But what I speak is the truth. And I need your help. The Wights and their masters can be killed by Valyrian steel, fire and dragonglass. You have an ample supply of fire and there is a lot of dragonglass on Dragonstone. You also have far more men than we do. You must help us."

Judging by her angry look, perhaps in this moment, Jon Snow was realizing that he shouldn't have used the word _must._ That man was certainly no diplomat.

"You presume too much, _lord_ Snow. Enough with the idle chatter. Have you come to bend the knee?"

"No."

"Will you do so?"

"My people chose me to lead them through the Long Night. I cannot spit in their faces by doing so."

"Then you have come here to talk rubbish. To insult ME."

"Your Grace, I..."

"Enough of this. You must be tired after your long journey. Take a break. We shall talk further, later."

"Are we your prisoners?", asked the ginger haired one.

"No, but you are not allowed to leave, so consider yourselves my honored and forced guests."

The guards led them out of the Great hall.

Tyrion knew that Jon Snow had changed, but didn't know just how much. Jon was different. More kingly.

But just as thick.

"Bastard of Winterfell, do tell me: How did you become king?", he said to him after spotting his company in the castle the day after the audience.

"Dwarf of Casterly Rock.", he greeted him in turn. "What are you doing here?"

"As hand of Daenerys or talking to you?"

"Both, I imagine.", said the older man. "I am ser Davos Seaworth, by the way."

"Stannis's former hand. I know who you all are. We are well informed with lord Varys around.", Tyrion remembered hearing about him from before the Blackwater. The smuggler turned hand of the king. "Well, as to the question, the first is a long story and the second - a short one. You fucked up, your Grace."

"Yes, I think we noticed that.", said Ygritte, Jon Snow's wife. "How bad is it?"

"Well, the queen becomes very overprotective when it comes to her son. Very, flammable, so to speak. You do realize you are lucky to be alive, right?"

"All I said there is true."

"I know.", his reply surprised them. "Neither you nor my ex wife are stupid enough to send you here unless all that is true. As if this country needed any more trouble. That doesn't change the fact that you failed to convince her."

"How do I convince her?"

"You can't. I mean, seriously. Do you honestly think that people would just believe this tale of yours?! People who do not know you."

"If I knew a way to do so, life would be easier."

"She has almost subjugated the country just by sitting here. Cersei has only herself and that Ironborn king of hers. And the capital. We would besiege it soon enough. You will have to wait until then, if you want her to even look northwards."

"But the threat..."

"Jon, I know that the Wall wasn't built for the wildlings. No offence, my lady, but your folk are hardly scary enough to warrant the building of such a massive wall."

"None taken. And I am no lady."

"Point is, the Wall has held them back for thousands of years. Not to mention that, the Watch hasn't been properly manned since the Conquest. The Walkers have been active for years now, if all the recent rumors are to be believed. IF they could breach the wall, they would have done so by now. We must deal with them, true. But they can wait, for at least a while longer."

"What about the dragonglass? We need it to kill them. Let us at least mine it in the meantime.", asked Davos.

"I may be able to convince her to do so. But here is another question. Are you at least open to considering bending the knee to her, Jon?"

"Why should I? Your queen's reasoning on being the rightful queen is that she is the daughter of the madman, who used to be king. The man who killed my uncle and grandfather."

"She is not her father. You don't know what she has been through. She started off even worse than you. You had a home and family to support you. She had none. All she had was a psychopathic brother and a famous name. She made herself into a queen by sheer force of will. She made the Dothraki, the most fearsome folk there is, follow her and she broke the slave trade in Slaver's bay. She is quite the person, you know. And so are you. You and your family have a lot in common with her. You best use all of your northern charm to turn her into a friend and not someone who sees you as merely another fool, mad enough to stand in her way. Plenty of those have been reduced to bone and dust recently. Don't add to the statistic, Jon Snow."

Tyrion left them to their own devices for all that to sink in. It would be a shame if Tyrion's favorite bastard was to turn into meal for the dragons.

* * *

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

Sansa was stunned. Honestly. She hoped for it. After all the reunions, she kind of expected it. But still....Bran was home.

Bran was in a carriage, pulled by a horse, ridden by a woman, who introduced herself as Meera Reed, daughter of Howland Reed, lord of Greywater watch. Her brother was back.

"Bran, what happened? Where were you? How did it go?", asked him Rickon the questions that were in all their heads. They had moved inside, where it was warmer.

"I have become the Three-eyed-raven. I...am not exactly the same."

"What do you mean?", asked Arya.

"I am now able to see the past, present and future."

"That sounds complicated.", said Sansa.

"I am so sorry for all that happened to you when you were in King's Landing, Sansa. And you Arya, shouldn't have looked as they killed father.", it frightened them, recounting all the horrors they had been through. "Arya's faces started changing and Sansa became stronger, too. Found love, where she least expected it. It all turned out well, in the end. Save for mother, father and Robb."

They would have to take it for a fact. Their long lost brother now knew all.

Sansa knew that with Bran here her family was almost whole. She was very happy. And Bran's newfound powers would come in handy. Against their enemies - the Others, Cersei....Baelish. She knew she needed his help on this. For the final nail in Petyr Baelish's coffin. Her beloved Dom had told her his conversation with lord Royce was a success. All she needed now was to tie the man to the noose more securely.

"Bran, may I come in.", she exclaimed after the Reed girl abruptly left the room.

"Yes. You want to talk, about Baelish."

"Yes, Bran. He..."

"I told you not to trust me."

"What?"

"He said this to father the moment, he put his dagger to his throat. The moment he betrayed him."

"I...thank you. We need to take care of this man, Bran. He is a threat to the family."

"I know sister. Just don't go too far, trying to defend the family. Not all outsiders are enemies."

Arya went into Bran's chambers, after seeing Sansa exiting, a smile on her face.

"Bran, may I ask you something?"

"Seems like I am a lot in demand lately."

"I am sorry. I shall go, if..."

"No, don't worry. You want to go south, right?"

"Yes."

"To see Jon and...someone else."

"What have you seen?", asked Arya, slightly flustered.

"Let's just say, that Daenerys might soon be more to you than just someone you admire. After Baelish's trial, go south to the capital. You have a lion to kill. And so much more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know that the reunion and acceptance of Bran's power was kinda short, but let's be fair - when you recount for others their worst life moments, for which you haven't been present, those powers seem real.  
Next - the long awaited trial of Petyr Baelish. Jon and Daenerys find a common ground.


	9. Trials

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

Today was the day they would expose Baelish and Sansa was understandably nervous. The Great hall was filled with people. All the noblemen in Winterfell, plus guards between them and the middle. She hoped that everything would be smooth.

Baelish was there, too. 

Nobody knew what exactly this meeting was about. However, she had been recently manipulated by Baelish to usurp her half-brother's crown, so at least he might think this was the reason. 

The other lords were in the dark. All except Royce, who Sansa suspected knew what was going to happen.

Sansa was sitting in the lord's seat. On her left sat Dom, while on the right sat Arya. Next to Arya, in a custom made wheelchair sat Bran.

"My lords.", addressed them the lady regent. "I have gathered you all here, so that you may bear witness to a serious crime be punished. You stand accused of treason, murder, conspiracy to kill and for plunging the entire country into war. How do you plead, lord Baelish?"

Petyr Baelish looked as if he had just been hit with a cow pie. It was priceless, brief, but priceless.

He hurried to get before her from the wall, where he had leaned back.

"My lady, I do not understand."

"What do you not understand? Let me specify for all here. You convinced my aunt, Lysa Arryn, to poison lord Jon Arryn, her husband and lord of the Vale. You tricked my family and the Lannisters into starting a war. You betrayed my father to the Lannisters. You threw my aunt, your accomplice from the Moon Door."

"My lady, Sansa, I have always loved you."

"You loved my mother, whom I resemble. Now how do you plead?"

"Innocent. I have done none of those things. None of you were there. None of you know what happened."

" 'I told you not to trust me.' is what you told my father as you held your dagger at his throat. The dagger with which the cutthroat tried to kill me.", said calmly Bran.

All the people present eyed Baelish menacingly.

Littlefinger went to lord Royce and begged him: "Lord Royce, I am regent of the Vale. I command you to safely escort me back to the Eyrie."

"I think not.", said lord Royce as he crushed Petyr's hope.

"My lady, please, I beg you. I always loved you, please.", he started crying in front of her. _How the mighty have fallen?!_

"Thank you, lord Baelish. I have learned a lot from you. I will always remember your lessons.", said truthfully Sansa. The man was evil, but he was her mentor. If not for what he had taught her, she might be dead in King's Landing. "Lord Petyr Baelish, for your crimes, I sentence you to die."

Before he could make another plea, Arya swiftly approached him and slit his throat.

And thus ended the life of Petyr Baelish.

The next day, Arya set off for King's Landing. Sansa tried to dissuade her, saying that it was too dangerous, but Bran assured her that Arya would be fine. She was set on killing Cersei and Sansa won't be the one to stop that.

* * *

**Highgarden, The Reach**

Jon was divided. On one hand, he knew he had to hurry back North, on the other - it was nice here. Highgarden was the opposite of Winterfell. Warm and nice. Flowers everywhere. It was nice. Peaceful. As if detached from all the chaos and worry.

This morning, Jon received a letter. Littlefinger was dead. And moreover, Bran was alive and back home. It also said that he had some abilities, that allowed him to see into the past. Could be useful in the war to come. 

Tyrion was not wrong about the Others. There was a high chance that they couldn't actually breach the Wall itself. They still had to defend it though. Who knew what they could do?!

Daenerys Targaryen was a different monarch. He had seen two kings - Robert and Stannis Baratheon. 

Robert was a fat sot, who might have been a great warrior once, but that was all. The man looked nothing like a king.

Stannis was a man of honor and responsibility and duty. And nothing else. He was neither charismatic nor good. Not really. The man believed that everyone owed him fealty and looked like a child in a tantrum when denied. A good statesman, but not a man who inspired loyalty. 

Daenerys was different. Not just because of the dragons. Those who followed her did so because of who she was, not some blood right. They followed Daenerys, not Targaryen. Jon liked that about her. The Dothraki had a fearsome reputation even here and yet they had bended the knee to her. From what he had seen, she was a good person. If only Jon could make her trust him. They needed help. And Jon wasn't the best of kings either. He wasn't made for diplomacy.

"Lord Snow.", addressed him the queen.

"Your Grace.", he responded.

"Are you still holding to your story?"

"I am. It is true. I don't like it. You don't like it. No one likes it. And yet it is true."

"Lord Tyrion says that if you would lie, you would have made something more believable. I am inclined to believe that."

"So, what does that mean?"

"I will let you mine the obsidian. I will give you all the resources you require for it, too. I will also let you go there in person, in order to supervise this."

"And what about helping with the fight?"

"I will consider this, AFTER I have taken down Cersei."

"And how long until that happens?", Jon was worried just how long would the war between these southern queens would last. Couldn't they see the threat?

"We travel for King's Landing in a week. After I crown myself, we shall discuss what comes next."

"Why aren't you taking the Walkers seriously?"

"They are a more distant threat. You should see every enemy the same way. As a simple obstacle to be overcome. Take it from someone who has had enemies since the day she was born. I have experience in destroying enemies."

"I've heard." She had an impressive track record for that. He hoped should handle the dead just as easily.

"And I imagine that you will not bend the knee?"

"No."

"So you just want to use me."

"Your Grace, I have heard that you have earned the loyalty of your followers. This is your chance to earn ours." Jon couldn't really guarantee that, but it was hardly impossible. Honestly, even Jon realized that with Westeros united and only the North being independent, it would one day turn bad for them. Sooner or later some King in the North would want to join the North to the rest of the kingdoms. And besides, apart from Jon losing the title of king, he couldn't see much of a difference.

"We have an agreement then. After King's Landing is taken and my men and dragons rested, we shall march north."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - the Siege of King's Landing


	10. The Death Of A Queen

**King's Landing**

"Sieges are so dull."

Daenerys hated sieges. She had done them twice already and hardly loved them. Yunkai and Meereen were her experiences. She always had to attack the cities both from the inside and outside. She was doing the same now. 

The Sand Snakes had sneaked in through a secret tunnel near the Mud gate. The plan was relatively simple - they sneak in and kill Cersei and all those mad enough to allow her to initiate the Wildfire plot. Her father's legacy - caches of wildfire that would destroy the city. She had to save the people inside. Cersei had gathered much of the smallfolk inside the Red Keep, under the pretense to save them from Dany, but in truth to save herself from swift annihilation. Dany was going to use this to her advantage - the Sand Snakes would remain undetected among the crowds. They were good warriors and would be successful. 

Dany had burned Euron Greyjoy's fleet at anchor, all 1000 ships burning like so many candles. It was beautiful and oddly enough there were no screams coming from the men on board. 

Dany had also burned the scorpions, the Cersei had, that could hurt her dragons. But she wouldn't invade the city just yet. She couldn't risk the city's safety. For now she was simply besieging the city with an army of more than 100 000 men.

"Report!", she told ser Barristan, who just entered the command tent.

"We have secured the walls, your Grace. We also have dealt with any survivors from the Iron fleet, some imprisoned, others killed after resisting."

With the destruction of Euron's fleet and men only the enemy commanders remained.

"Do we have any news from the Sand Snakes?"

"No, your grace.", replied Tyrion. That was not good. What could be delaying them so much? Have they failed?

Obara and her sisters had successfully sneaked in the Red Keep, but it was not an easy thing to find the Lannister queen. There were guards everywhere and while it was crowded with people, it was not like they could just go where they wished. The throne room was off limits, naturally. Fortunately, the Spider had given them directions for a secret tunnel that led straight inside the throne room. What they found however was so not what they intended.

"Hello, sluts. Come to join your father in death? I will arrange that." She gestured to her kingsguard to attack. Apart from them a man, who was probably Euron Greyjoy, was standing next to the Lannister Bitch.

"You think that this will stop our vengeance. Come on sisters, let's spill some Lannister blood." And so the unfair fight, 4 against 7, began.

_Earlier today:_

Arya didn't have a hard time sneaking inside the Red Keep. For some reason, Cersei was letting anyone in. The city was preparing for a siege. One that, Arya surmised, would be brief. Still, Arya wanted to be the one to slit Cersei's throat. Call her greedy.

The castle was full of people, not only commoners but also soldiers. It was easy for Arya to sneak around, after all she had done so quite well the last time she was here. _Father. _I will kill that bitch. And she won't even see me coming.

By a stroke of luck, she spotted a kingsguard knight leaving the throne room in a hurry, alongside an old man. She followed them to a shady room, that resembled a place for experiments. There were jars with all sorts of liquids. The old man was wearing the same badge that her father wore, so she assumed he was Cersei's hand. _Won't regret killing the guy. _

"By the orders of the queen, it is time to ignite the wildfire. Go to the tunnel, I've mapped for you. As soon as Daenerys Targaryen's forces enter the city, we shall burn them all.", said the older man.

_Oh, no. That's monstrous. That madwoman was going to incinerate the city._ She had to act. NOW. 

Arya hurried downstairs and she made short work out of the unsuspecting knight. Then she killed the old man. Even if he were defenseless, he was going to do something monstrous.

And then she looked at the knight. The man was shorter than most. Around her height. This gave her an idea. She pulled out Littlefinger's knife, she had claimed for herself, and got to work.

Her brave knights and husband attacked them. It should have been an easy thing. Gut them like fish, but the whores were craftier than expected. 

"Die, just die already." Her patience was reaching its end. 

Euron managed to pin one of them to the ground and just as he was about to kill her....one of her kingsguard stuck his blade in his throat. 

Everyone was shocked. Ser Jaremy Banefort, the short as most called him due to his height, was a loyal man. Why betray her? "Why betray me? I am your queen."

"What you are", said the man, no that is a woman's voice. "is a name on my list." 

The person removed their helmet. And then...their face. It was a woman. A girl, a young girl. Who?

Cersei was so confused and scared that she paid no mind to her other men dying. Even ser Gregor was lying dead, after those snakes stabbed him with their spears repeatedly. Cersei couldn't move. She was paralyzed by...fear.

"Who are you?" she barely managed to utter.

"My name is Arya Stark and the Starks send their regards.", she said as the little animal, Cersei had all but forgotten about, lunged at her, dagger in hand.

Two names off. Her list was empty. Granted, another had killed the Mountain, but she couldn't be so picky.

"Who the fuck are you?" a woman, oddly resembling herself, asked her.

"Arya Stark, as I already said." Were they not listening?

"She was our kill." The boyish one pointed at Cersei's corpse.

"She has been on my kill list for 8 years. And you were going to be her kill, if I hadn't decided to break my cover ungrateful cunts."

"They are all dead. Our father and Elia and her children have finally been avenged. The stupid war is over.", another one hissed. "Let's leave it at that."

"Have you seen my brother? Dark hair, usually brooding."

"Yes, actually, we have. Come, we have to tell this city, it lost."

The war was over. A new war will begin soon, but for now at least, a little peace. Jon had just been watching, but he didn't like it. Cersei was needlessly resisting. And Daenerys had easily won. She didn't even need an army to be honest. Those dragons of hers were more than enough. A large fleet was destroyed in minutes. The city's defenses were torn down and the army started marching through.

Jaime and Tyrion, as well as Daven, were marching alongside the queen's men. The queen herself rode on dragonback. Always the dramatic one, the new queen. The remaining Lannister soldiers surrendered as soon as they saw the Sand Snakes carrying Cersei's head around. It sickened him, but he knew that there was no way around. Cersei had to die. The question was how it would happen. Now he knew. Jaime would spare his daughter the details. She was safe now. That's all that mattered.

Jon was happy and surprised to see Arya here. She had killed Cersei herself, apparently. They were standing just outside the castle itself. The smallfolk, trapped here, were being freed. 

"You know we had it covered, right?"

"I had to rescue their sorry asses. And what do you mean by we?"

"Daenerys and I have formed an alliance. She will be coming north, to see if I am honest or mad."

"And I imagine she prays you are mad?!"

"So do we all. Alas, I fear that my Jon and I are both sane.", added Ygritte. 

Daenerys finally sat upon it. The Iron Throne. An uncomfortable seat. Too many jagged edges. Like Westeros itself to be honest.

"You don't like it?", asked her hand.

"No. I suppose I will have it melted. I think of building something different. Something better. A new symbol for a new age."

"That is something to look forward to.", a voice said as its owner came closer. It was Arya Stark, the killer of Cersei.

"Your Grace. I do not believe we have been introduced."

"Oh, your reputation already precedes you, queenslayer."

"Oh, I like it. Queenslayer. Sounds cool."

"I am glad lady Stark, you will be stuck with that one for life, I fear."

"I am no lady. Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory."

"Only that? Well thank you, Arya."

"Well, I also prevented your army from burning in wildfire."

"So that is what happened with the bloody wildfire then. I thank you, my savior of the city." Daenerys was quite impressed with that one. And a lot more calm, given that there was no more wildfire to worry about.

"What will you do with the North?", the Stark woman asked.

"Your brother hasn't bend the knee yet, so I will have to settle for an alliance, for now."

"And in the future?" Was this an interrogation? Well, lets be blunt.

"I don't know. We will see what happens with these Others, he speaks of."

"It's not like I care for kingdoms and crowns. I will always protect my family though. No matter who I have to kill."

"As should you." Dany was both impressed and attracted to that one. Most people didn't have the guts to speak to her like that directly. Only simpletons did. The fools, blinded by their idiotism. This one was different. A pretty little thing and tough as nails.

"I hope you stay here until we are to leave for the North."

"I will."

Damn, damn, damn. How could she fuck up so much? Killing queens was so much easier than talking to them. Did she come of as threatening? Maybe. That was just her overprotectiveness of her home. She seriously doubted that goddess like woman would attack Winterfell. I mean even with Cersei. Her siege was so 'gentle'. It was probably the first time in history that someone had described a siege as 'gentle'. But it was. She could have obliterated the entire city, but she didn't. Daenerys was also quite gorgeous. A beautiful woman, the rumors did her justice.

The day after the siege ended, Daenerys Targaryen had called every man of importance left in the city. She had to crown herself after all, being a queen and all.

"I now proclaim Daenerys of House Targaryen, The First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Long may she reign.", announced none other than Jaime Lannister, the queen's father's killer. 

"Long may she reign.", echoed through the rooms. Arya repeated it as well. There was a new queen. Certainly better than the last one. And more attractive, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, if things seemed kinda rushed here, but I suck at long descriptions and this chapter is more about action.
> 
> Next - a 3 month timeskip.


	11. The New Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And I am back. Hope you missed me.  
Tons of POVs. Many views. Enjoy.  
WARNING: A short, but quite smutty lesbian scene near the end of the chapter. You've been warned.

**Red Keep, King's Landing**

It's been three months since we took the city. Since Cersei got killed. Tyrion didn't particularly mourn her. She was the wickedest woman in history. Vindictive, cruel, vile and stupid. She believed herself to be lord Tywin with teats, but that wasn't so. Tyrion never regretted killing his sire. The man was an awful parent and a ruthless son of a bitch. Sorry, grandma. But he was not stupid and not pure evil, that destroyed everything it touched. Tyrion had been more concerned about Jaime and Myrcella. The girl wasn't particularly sad. Cersei had been close to only Joffrey. Her other children were just in the periphery. She cared only about her concept of them, not the children themselves. So, Myrcella wasn't too sad about it. Jaime on the other hand barely stopped himself from crying when he saw the Sand Snakes parade Cersei's severed head around like some trophy. Still, these days, Jaime was no longer sad about it. She was his sister, his twin, his lover. He had failed to pay attention to her turning into a monster. But all that was in the past. Jaime had devoted himself to looking after his daughter. 

After the victory, Daenerys had stayed true to her word. She had declared Jaime her Warden of the West and had legitimized Myrcella as Myrcella Lannister. She and her future husband would inherit the Rock after Jaime dies. 

Tyrion however could never understand why Oberyn's daughters and lover hated Cersei so much. Oberyn fought on Tyrion's behalf of his own will and had done so to avenge his sister and her children. They were killed by the Mountain on his lord father's orders. Cersei was just a Lannister to them, that is all. Granted, she had sent men to poison their uncle, but Tyrion was positive they had planned to kill his sister (and most likely himself and Jaime) even before that.

Anyways, Daenerys's reign was off with a pretty good start. She controlled all the lands, except for the Vale and the North. The Stormlands had elected themselves a new lord paramount in the face of Lord Swann. Bronn, who had helped them sneak the Sand Snakes inside the keep and had killed a few guards along the way, finally got his precious castle - The Twins. Abandoned, filled with widowed women and generating a good income, the new lord of the Crossing finally stopped complaining. The queen was a bit resistant towards the idea of turning a sellsword and a turncloak into a lord, but after Bronn bent the knee, she decided to give her permission.

Soon after she had crowned herself officially, she had married Loras Tyrell in a small ceremony. Nothing too grand. A way to unite the people in celebration. And to fulfill her marriage alliance to the Reach. She had also distributed food from the Reach to feed the people of the city, whom Cersei had almost starved to death. That certainly won the vicious, ungrateful bastards to her side. The smallfolk of King's Landing celebrated Cersei's death, but would have cheered equally loudly for Daenerys's head, if things were otherwise. 

The damage to the city wasn't much. Mostly the walls and most of the City Watch. With the influx of people in the city, the queen's armies and allies, that didn't matter. Easily replaceable. 

The dragon banners flew from atop the walls, with the Tyrell rose flying just beneath them. 

Daenerys had replaced the red cloaks with her own guards, all dressed in iron armor, with a black tunic displaying her sigil and pointy helmets. Most of these men were Westerosi. They needed to show that she wasn't a foreign invader, but the rightful queen of Westeros. Regardless, amongst them were mixed her own men. While undoubtedly much of her army would eventually choose return home, to Essos, thousands of them wanted to remain in Westeros. Most of her Freedmen had no home to go back to. And many of her Dothraki wanted to keep serving her. These people had to be integrated.

Her Queensguard was also being formed with Westerosi knights. All of them had to be very proficient fighters, not people appointed as favors, like Robert's kingsguard was. Barristan the Bold was still the lord commander and his first recruit was Jorah Mormont. The men would die for the queen, but they needed more. Loras Tyrell had brought from the Reach two very proficient fighters - ser Alyn Ashford and ser Rickard Stackhouse. There were also ser Orion Sand, the Bastard of Blackmont and ser Hugo Vance. And last, but not least ser Edwin Darry. He and his elder brother had come to the capital a few weeks after they had taken the city. The Darrys had been Targaryen loyalists, who had lost much of their prestige after the Rebellion. The queen had been spirited away and looked after for years by ser Willem Darry, their relative. In gratitude, she had restored the Darry their lands and declared Ryman Darry, the elder of the siblings, lord of Darry. The younger brother requested to join her Queensguard. Tyrion didn't approve of favoritism, taking land from riverlords and giving it to the Darrys, but he later saw that her action had been quite prudent. With House Darry being one of the strongest houses in the Riverlands once more, they could have a firmer hold of the region. Edmure Tully, while having bent the knee, was nevertheless uncle to the Starks, with whom their relationship was unclear. They needed to have an alternative, should they needed a new lord paramount of the Trident. The new lord of Darry best learn how to be lord quickly. 

Still, it is not like they just picked a few sers. Each of the knights had been dueled by Barristan and Jorah to see if they were fit for duty. They were. 

The Crown Prince of Dragonstone was quite excited to be here. The boy loved watching his mother sit on the Iron Throne so much that he was half-certain that for this reason alone, Daenerys would go back on her word to melt it down. Still, that was hardly a problem. It matters who sits on it. The throne is just that. A chair with rich history.

Tyrion and Shae were back into the apartments of the Hand. They, and the rest of the keep, had been scrubbed clean of anything that reminded of Cersei. And now he, and his lover were lying on the uncomfortable bed once more.

"It is as uncomfortable as I remember.", quipped Tyrion. His poor back.

"And the city still smells of piss and shit and cum. I missed this place.", said Shae. Gods, that woman was made just for him. 

Edwin was the last member to join the new Queensguard. His brother and he had come to the capital as soon as they heard of the Targaryen Restoration. After the Rebellion, with three elder brothers dead and their house robbed by the Usurper, Ryman and Edwin had decided to try their luck in the Free cities as sellswords and had been part of the Golden Company. The men there weren't so bad, but they didn't have a home. The brothers were devastated when they heard that their relatives had perished during the recent war.

They wanted a home and the queen had restored theirs. They were very surprised by her generosity. They half-expected that she had no idea how much their house had supported hers, but they turned out to be wrong. And how happy they were to be so. 

Edwin was greatly impressed with the dragons in the sky. Three of them large enough to cloud half the city and a smaller one. The Targaryens had reclaimed their rightful place.

The Queensguard was to be made up of the best knights in the Realm. Their seniors - the legendary Barristan Selmy and ser Jorah Mormont, trained with them for hours a day. They had the duty to be the best of the best. The pinnacle of knighthood, not a bunch of bullies in shining armor.

Their own armor wasn't like the previous ones. He had heard that the Mad queen's Queensguard had black armor, while the Usurper's had gold. The queen had commissioned for them pure white armor with a white cloak. The armors had the Targaryen banner emblazoned on their chests. They all wore their armors with pride. 

After his brother had left for Darry to secure their home and find himself a wife, Edwin had made it a point to study the queen's court. The queen's husband was the Knight of Flowers, Loras Tyrell. The man was her Prince Consort, not king obviously.

Queen Daenerys had one son from a previous lover. A boy named Vaelor Targaryen, a boy who would one day be king. A sweet lad that loved to watch the knights spar and his mother at the throne. A promising young boy of four years. 

There were the Hand of the Queen - the Imp Tyrion Lannister, as well as, surprisingly enough, the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister. Apparently, they had forsaken their father and sister, but Edwin would keep an eye on them. 

The Spider - lord Varys, was also there, knowing everything. 

Lord Paxter Redwyne was master of ships and a Pentoshi cheesemonger named Illyrio Mopatis was master of coin. 

Recently lady Arya Stark, rumored to be the queen's mistress, was appointed Queen's justice and Mistress of Laws, or to put it simply, her enforcer. The little girl and her large direwolf pet were fearsome enough for the task. She was short, but the woman had no problem taking him down and pinning him to the ground with her thin blade. Edwin didn't make the mistake of underestimating her again. The woman had a seat on the small council, too, which was a further testament to the rumors about her and the queen.

When he asked ser Barristan about it he said:

"A happy queen, a happy realm. We ought concern ourselves with her safety, not her pleasures. I have observed many monarchs in my years and I have noticed that a miserable monarch is a bad one. Besides, the prince consort doesn't seem to mind."

Edwin had agreed with the elder knight. It made sense. And soon after, he had heard why her husband didn't mind. His 'tastes' were different. But that was not his concern. He had spent enough time in the Free cities, to learn not to judge people on their preferences.

What worried him more was the presence of this bastard, that called himself King in the North. Pure treason that. Those northern savages best come to heel soon elsewise they shall taste his steel.

While Yara left for the Iron islands, Theon decided to stay behind. The Queen offered to make him Master of Ships, but Theon knew that he was not fit for it. He knew how to sail a ship, but he knew next to nothing about fleets. The reason he stayed was mostly because he wanted to pay the Starks for all the pain he had caused them. He may have not killed Rickon and Bran, but he still betrayed them. He had to pay his debt to them. He still couldn't forgive himself for betraying his family and his father's memory. For Eddard Stark had been Theon's true father. And he had shamed his memory for Balon Greyjoy, the man who basically sold him. So he would go North, to fight against the army of the dead, to defend the people he betrayed. To atone for his sins.

There was another reason as well, though.

To his surprise, the beautiful lady Margaery, the new lady of Highgarden, had many conversations with him recently. They shared their stories, she told him of how she and her brother managed to escape Cersei and he told her of the horrors of his imprisonment. For some reason she seemed to enjoy his company. The old Theon would have gloried in the fact that the beautiful Rose of Highgarden had taken an interest in him. He would have dreamt of sleeping with her, to just have her for a night. But the old Theon died in the dungeons of the Dreadfort. He was tortured, flayed and dead. The new Theon was a humble and responsible man, a person who wanted to atone for old Theon's sins. And he would. 

Last night, Margaery had hinted at him that she was willing to marry him. She had talked how it would be good for the new ironborn to intermingle with the mainlanders. Perhaps, the Gods willed that the new Theon deserved some happiness after all.

Marwyn was so busy. He had so much to write about. So much to learn from her and her dragons. It simply fascinated him. As one of the very few in the Citadel that believed in magic, he was often mocked. But with the return of the Targaryens, that had changed. He was offered by the Conclave to become the new Grand Maester and he agreed. How could he not?! To serve under the greatest monarch in history. A woman, whose fame no doubt shall eclipse even the Conqueror's own. Her dragons. He had to study them. Observing and writing about them was a dream come true. And the queen's queer ability to remain unhurt by fire, even dragon fire. Fascinating, simply fascinating.

Marwyn had also taken to writing another book apart from his "History on the New Generation of Dragons". He was also writing, what he dubbed "The Chronicles of the life of the Mother of Dragons". He had inquired daily from her and her earlier followers about her adventures in Essos and now here. She wanted an accurate history, to have the people know of her exploits. And honestly, it was an honor. When he heard from ser Jorah, how she had entered her first husband's funeral pyre and left it unharmed with three baby dragons chirping, he cursed himself for not being there. Oh, how exciting must it have been to witness such a thing?! He was so jealous.

Much of the recent events had already been set in stone. The battle, or massacre rather, of the Tarly rebels, was called the Eighth Hell. According to eye witnesses, it truly was - the land covered in ash, smoke and flame everywhere. The people burned to a crisp, that turned to ash upon touch. 

The taking of this city was dubbed The Fall of the Mad Queen. Many had dubbed Cersei Lannister so and given the accounts of eye-witnesses to her actions, prior to the battle, it was justified.

All in all, he was extremely busy. So much to do. He thanked his lucky stars for not being too old for that.

Daenerys was happy. Finally she had it all. The throne of her predecessors as well as the Seven Kingdoms. Or six, or eight. To be honest, it was still a bit confusing. Nine regions, but seven kingdoms. Still, she had most of them. The Ironborn, under Yara were a special case, but they were in line. That is all that mattered. She would help these people become better. After all, the reason why the Ironborn were like that, was because their islands were poor. Surely these people have potential to be more than that. Either way, that remained to be seen. 

It was the North that currently worried her. Well, the North and the Vale, which had sworn allegiance to it. While she had come to believe Jon Snow about the threat beyond the Wall and was already making preparations to march North, she still didn't know what to do afterwards. If they still refused to bend the knee, would she invade them? 

She could. Military speaking, she had 20 times more men than they had. At least. And that is not counting the dragons. While by all accounts, she would have to wait till spring in order to invade, would she be willing. She didn't want to sour her relationship with Arya. She knew that forcing her to choose between Dany and the Starks, everybody would be sad. She had to think of something. 

Suddenly, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Arya, grabbing hold of her hair and pulling her backwards roughly.

"Yeah, who is my good, obedient little bitch? Scream for me.", said mockingly Arya, who started pounding her arse harder with the cock-shaped toy, they had found during one inspection of the city. Several of the brothels in the city were abandoned for a while and when they saw it there they became quite curious about it.

"AAHhh. Yes, yes, harder. PLEASE, mistress. I am almost there.", Dany pleaded as Arya spanked her bottom with her free hand.

Many would condemn Dany about enjoying herself like that, but she cared not. Nevertheless, they fucked each other only in secret and the bedchamber's entrance was guarded by Nymeria, Arya's direwolf. 

Who would think that the little Stark girl would treat the Mother of Dragons like a cheap whore?!

Daenerys had started her relationship with Arya in the fortnight, following her wedding to Loras. While he was a nice enough person and they respected each other and wanted to have children together, he just couldn't please her enough. Nor she him. He liked his partner to take the lead and, while Dany was good at that, she wanted someone to top her. To make her feel less extraordinary, more common. She was young and yet a queen, whom many treated like a living goddess. She enjoyed power, but she wanted to be overpowered by someone. Someone she trusted, whom she loved and who loved her. To make her forget she was a queen for a while.

One night, Dany and Arya had started talking about each other's experiences, while having a drink. And Dany got drunk first, and, in a twist of fate, got seduced by Arya Stark. They had a lot in common, being forced to survive on their own. While Dany was at the head of a large army and a queen for some time, most of her life was spent, looking above her shoulder, wondering when will the Usurper's assassin's strike.

Arya was quite dominating in bed and eventually Dany completely gave in. 

She had never felt better. 

Drogo had been her first. He was brutal at first, but eventually softened and it was she who tamed the Great Khal in bed. Daario was skilled enough, but couldn't tame her. 

Arya was perfect. While shorter than Dany, and refusing to dress like a lady or put on makeup, she was quite pretty. Gorgeous even. Her perky teats were larger than Dany's own, in fact they were somewhat ridiculously large. She tended to keep her hair into a bun and wore men's clothes. What was most surprising about her was the fact that she had been one of the Faceless men briefly. 

Dany came hard, staining the bedsheets with her love juices and Arya pulled out of her swollen ass and allowed the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms to rest her sore holes, tired from hours of rough fucking. With a slap to her sore and reddened butt, the Mother of Dragons, fell on the soaked bed and Arya wrapped her arms around her.

"Is my queenie pleased?", asked Arya in a rather mocking tone.

"Oh, I was thoroughly ravished, mistress. Thank you." They had an understanding - outside of the bedroom, Dany ruled. But inside - she was absolutely subjugated by Arya Stark.

"So what's on your mind?", she asked Dany.

"How do you know that something's on my mind?"

"Because you are easy to read. Tell me."

"I am just...I don't want to leave."

"Who is saying I am letting you leave the bed?!", said Arya and grabbed Dany between her legs. "This stays."

"You know that I am not talking about that."

"Look, we cannot keep ignoring the threat of the army of the dead forever. Lest they actually cross the bloody Wall. And I think that you are already beyond the mistrustful phase with Jon."

"I know. I am. It's just...I thought that I would have peace after I took the city. And then your half-brother walks in and says 'there is an army of walking dead people that wants to kill us all'."

"I know.", Arya said and stroked her messy hair. "Trust me, I am not overly excited about it either. But, I will come with you. And so many others, too. We will win."

"Of course we will. But what comes after? Look, I promise not to put you into a position where you will have to choose between the North and myself. I promise."

"I know, my girl. I know. You are good person and these idiots will see that. Or I will gauge out their useless, blind eyes." Arya tended to talk like this, but Dany knew she was serious.

"I do not believe that will endear the northern lords to me."

"You can always try. But please, tell me what would be the difference if the North is independent or not? Apart from the fact that Jon can keep calling himself king?"

"To be honest, your people will fall on some hard times."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters - trade. With the North becoming the only independent kingdom in Westeros, they will have a harder time buying food and other necessities. Bigger taxes on trade and all that. And those things would not be tied to me, but to anyone who trades with them so I won't really be able to help them much there. And from what I have heard, during the recent wars, several harvests were left uncollected and that would lead to famine during winter. Half the North will starve to death or would be buried in debts. The only thing their independence would give them is no taxes to the Iron throne and no one to command them."

"Then why the hell, do they even want it then? Surely my sister knows this?"

"Frightened by the south, most like. Too much bad history. Still, say I give them their independence, come spring they would be begging to rejoin the Seven kingdoms."

"Well, that doesn't sound like an after-sex talk to me.", said Loras as he strolled in, as if owning the place.

"Who the fuck let you in?", asked annoyed Arya. "What is Nymeria doing?"

"Chewing on a steak."

"Figures.", murmured Arya as she played with Dany's silvery bush.

"There is going to be a small council meeting. Snow insists on it."

"He sure can pick the moment. Alright, get up queenie. It's time to get dressed.", Arya ordered Dany and Loras smirked.

"Oh husband, don't you have someone to be with it?"

"Like whom?", asked Loras, blushing like a maid.

"Ser Orion Sand, for instance. You have been staring at him for a while now, talk to him. He is Dornish. Chances are, he would be interested."

After they got dressed, they went to the Small council chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sex scene is slightly inspired by The Lady of Winterfell by MTL17 - the smuttiest GoT fic I've ever read. Plus, I wanted to write about a relationship like that. When I watched GoT, I always thought that Dany needed to relax, otherwise she would have gone mad. And she did. Plus, I wanted to make her marriage here not about love, but politics. I mean, this was the reason, why she ditched Daario in the show in the first place.  
As for the queensguard, most of the names I made up.  
So what do you think about all this? Please comment.  
Next - The small council meeting and reactions in Winterfell.


	12. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of short, but I needed a brief pause for our guys, between the two wars.

**Red Keep, King's Landing**

Daenerys had dressed regally. Her dress was black with multiple red dragons depicted on it, so much so that it was mostly red. Elegant jewelry hung on her neck and stood on her fingers. Her crown was a tiara, with nine different scales, each depicting the sigil of the lord of each region, with the middle one, the largest, being the Targaryen dragon. It clearly accentuated what Jon feared - she meant to be queen of all Westeros. And that had worried him the most.

Before the Small council meeting, he had wondered what to do about that. The Northern lords, the ones that crowned him would resent him. _Fuck them. I never wanted that bloody title. _Then there was Sansa. She was going to be disappointed. _Make an alliance with her._ She said. _You are a king._ A king? Jon was not so sure. Daenerys had been in power for about three months now and she had subjugated most of the country. She would take the North and the Vale, whenever she pleased. They couldn't stop her. She had her armies and her dragons. Even if someone was lucky enough to successfully assassinate her, her followers, who loved her, would make them suffer. The North remembers, aye, but young prince Vaelor also will. Those who followed her also will. She was not an enemy they could win against. And why fight her? For a crown he didn't want? Besides, they needed her. She had 20 times more men, than they had. Men that would be invaluable in the fight against the dead. Not to mention the dragons. 

And he had seen how she ruled. Fairly, justly and wisely. She was no tyrant, but a woman of vision.

Jaime Lannister, the man who had killed her father and crowned her, had outright told him to watch himself. So did Tyrion before him. The irony was not lost on him. 

Jon had made up his mind. They had waited long enough. There was one thing he could do that would make it so that Daenerys came North already. Bend the knee.

He had discussed it with Davos and Ygritte.

Davos said that there will be consequences, brought on by the Northern lords.

Ygritte couldn't care less.

They sat at the horseshoe-shaped table that was in the small council chamber. Daenerys at her center and the rest of her advisors around her.

Jon was quite surprised when he heard that his sister Arya was appointed to the small council by the queen. A move to get the Northerners on her side perhaps? He didn't think that Arya would like to be into politics, but she was a stern believer in justice, as far as he knew, so she wouldn't be too bad as Mistress of Laws and Queen's Justice. If only she could be bothered to read the laws. Still, her taking Daenerys's side was kinda odd. She was her admirer sure, but nevertheless...

"Well, Lord Snow.", the queen addressed him with the same tone that ser Aliser liked to use. "You are the first pretender king to ever summon a small council meeting. I do hope that you have something momentous to say."

"Aye, your grace. I intend to bend the knee." Some looked surprised. Most didn't react.

"Took you long enough.", quipped lord Tyrion.

"And...", Daenerys asked. 

"I have some conditions."

"Which are?"

"The North will be inherited by my younger brother Rickon and Sansa, my sister, will be regent. No more bullying from the South. No more taxes to the South. The North has suffered under the whims of Southern rulers long enough. We have suffered greatly in recent years." He knew that he was treading dangerously close to the dragon's jaws, but he had to try. 

"Fine. As long as they bend the knee. I will allow it. It seems fare. I am no bully lord Snow."

"I also want that we leave for the North immediately with your dragons and armies. The threat is still there and the dragonglass has been mined. We need to go."

"Do not worry. I have already sent out the ravens, my lord. My forces are amassing near the city. We leave within a fortnight."

Jon now had to do his part. He knew what he was supposed to do, when she rose from her seat and stood before him.

Jon knelt. And he was king no more.

After all that was said and done, Jon left the room, feeling like a traitor. Before he entered that chamber, he felt like he was doing the right thing, but now...  
He had betrayed his sister, his brother and his people. The worst part was that he had to. He had no choice. The crown was not his to give and certainly not wanted by him, but that changed little. The decision was the right one and yet he couldn't feel like an utter traitor.

Arya ran up to him.

"You did the right thing, you know right? That 'king' thing wasn't going to end well."

"What do you know? I betrayed my family. She forced me to. Your queen. That little...", he seethed, still angry at his lack of options back then. 

"Careful how you speak of my woman.", she hissed, her glare full of anger. 

"Your...woman?! What the heck are you talking about Arya?" 

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't heard all the funny rumors. I could go into details, if you like."

He was reeling. Sure, he had heard whispers, but never paid them attention. Gossip and Southerners came hand in hand.

"She is a woman. And a Targaryen."

"You fell for a wildling. Sansa married a Bolton. As far as I see it, I am just continuing the proud family tradition of falling for the wrong people."

"Fair enough.", he had to concede that the current generation of Starks had odd choices for bedmates. "But she is married."

"He knows, silly. Besides, he prefers boys to girls."

"What the fuck is wrong with the South?"

"I know. I know. I am still trying to get used to it.", she said. "Now come. She wants to talk to you in private."

"Your Grace.", he greeted her as he and Arya entered. Arya took her place by Daenerys's side. The place looked like an office, but it was actually the Queen's bedchambers. _Pretty things for pretty people._ Winterfell was a grim place, not much finery displayed. The Red Keep was too fancy for him. Even his own guest chambers here were nicer than the ones of the Lord of Winterfell.

"My lord. Jon, look I do not like to force things on others, not unless it is for their own good."

"And this is so how exactly?"

"Do you even want to be king?" That was the first time anyone had asked him that. Southerners each wanted a fancy chair to sit on and a crown with a fancy title, containing the word 'king'.

"No.", he admitted. "But it had been bestowed upon me by my people."

"What do you want, for yourself, after all this is over?"

"Doesn't matter. We might just die in the Great War."

"Sure. But what if we prevail?" He really liked her optimism, but...

"To be with Ygritte. Somewhere, peaceful."

"Name a region. I will give you a comfortable castle for you and your wife."

Was she serious? Jon still couldn't fully grasp what she was talking about. But he went on with it.

"The North. I want to keep living with my family."

"Okay. That is also fine."

"Are you two...happy?" He wanted to know just that. Call him old fashioned, but he couldn't truly grasp the relationship of love between people of the same sex.

"Yes.", they said in almost unison.

"Thank you your Grace. I am happy for you. Both of you. Excuse me now." Jon never needed a good cup of ale more than now.

* * *

**Winterfell, Kingdom of the North**

Sansa was reeling. The Dragon queen had already subjugated the south. She though that Jon would be able to convince her to come to their aid immediately. She though that given how much time he had spent there, he might even be fucking her for all she knew. He had even bended the knee to her. What the hell was he thinking?

"Any word from Jon?", asked her Dom, when he entered the solar. 

"Hear read this. And check the signature."

He took it and skimmed over its contents.

"He is coming back. That's...", she interrupted him, still angry from reading it. "Check the bloody signature.

"_Jon Snow, Warden of the North._ Oh...so he has bent the knee.", he said. "What do we do?"

"I don't know. I guess, I will have to think of something."

He left her, clearly seeing she wanted to be alone. Alone with her plots and schemes. 

The Mad King's daughter was coming to Winterfell within a fortnight. She had to make her see that the North will always be independent. If her bastard brother wouldn't protect it, she will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - The road to Winterfell


	13. The Kingsroad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter. Some interactions and reactions for the brief conflict against Cersei, because I realized I hadn't covered some characters properly.
> 
> Something came to me last minute. I decided to make Jon a targ here as well. I wanted to explore that in my story as well. So I added something to this chapter, to make it so.

**The Kingsroad**

They have been riding along the Kingsroad for over a week. On the way, they had stopped at Bronn's castle - The Twins. The guy finally got his castle. 

Hurrah.

The army was massive. Jaime knew his histories thanks to the endless lessons of his lord father, so he knew that there has never been a larger army in Westeros. 

60 000 Dothraki, 10 000 Ghiscari, 8000 Unsullied, 50 000 Reachmen, 15 000 Dornishmen, 10 000 Westermen, 10 000 Stormlanders, 5000 Crownlanders and 2000 Rivermen. In total - 170 000 men. Not to mention three dragons, circling overhead. All following the new queen. Put together all the men, that followed any given king into battle, and you will find that their current numbers eclipsed that. It was astonishing. If this army of the dead truly existed, then this army was the only thing that could stop it. 

But now they were having a break. One of the weaknesses of such large armies is that they couldn't move too fast. 

They were dining out in the open, near the army camp, given that the Twins couldn't exactly contain so many men inside. The castle's location meant that its new gold-loving lord would be well off soon enough, however the castle wasn't particularly large. It consisted of two big, identical castles on each side of the Green Fork, connected by a great stone bridge. The tolls alone were going to make Bronn rich, not respected by the other lords, but rich. Luckily, as part of Daenerys agreeing to give it to him it was made so that there would be no tolls for passing Targaryens and their armies. Thanks the Gods for small mercies as they say. 

Another reason for dining in the open was because Daenerys wanted to be seen among the people. It was all part of being a good ruler, he supposed. Jaime couldn't know though, for never having seen a particularly good king in action. Aerys was a madman, who cowered inside the Red keep, fearing the sun was conspiring against him. Robert was a drunken sot who, while dining with friends and sycophants, was often in his cups more often than not. Joffrey preferred tormenting defenseless creatures to ruling and Tommen was just a child. _Poor Tommen._ Jaime still grieved for his son. How could he have let that happen? He was not there, but...maybe...just maybe...he could have consoled him. And Cersei was too busy to steal his crown to pay him much attention. Jaime did grieve her too, though. He grieved for his sister, lover and soulmate. The mother of his children. If only he could find out where and when she had died. For it seems a heartless monster had been dressed in her skin for years before it had been killed. Jaime had decided to remember the woman, not the monster.

Daenerys's new pet, the new grand master, seemed to be a combination of Qyburn and Pycelle - a puppet and a genius. A very intelligent man beyond a doubt, and loyal to the queen. But he was so annoying with all his questions. His curiousness about the queen's ability and her dragons was bordering on bullying. He was currently writing a book about all that had happened in the queen's life till now, and Jaime couldn't help but be curious about its contents. Would they be biased, or honest, or false? Jaime couldn't tell.

The table was filled with people laughing and drinking. All the tables were. So many people were here. Ser Barristan and ser Alyn, along with the remaining 10 000 Ghiscari, were to stay with young prince Vaelor and protect the capital until his mother came back. There were always opportunists, who would want to make use of the queen's and her armies' absence to cause trouble. The prince also had his own dragon, so Jaime was not worried. His own last remaining child and her betrothed were sent to Casterly Rock. The castle was impregnable, so he hoped they would be safe. The rest of the people in importance were here. Even the Eunuch and his cheesemonger friend, as well as Tyrion. Those three made an interesting company. Jaime himself had his conversations with some Lannister bannermen as well as lord Swann and king, no lord Jon Snow. He was not really certain what his current title was. The man was the only dull person here. _Sulking for losing your crown bastard?_ _Well, hate to brake it to you, but it seems that bastards aren't meant to be kings._ His sons were proof enough. Lord Swann's younger brother was one of Cersei's Queensguard, but the man did not seem to miss him much. Getting a brand new castle as well as an entire region to rule over, seems to do that to a man. But who was he to judge?!

The queen was chatting with her husband, ser Orion Sand of the Queensguard and Arya Stark. Jaime couldn't help but smirk at that odd group. The queen was married to the prince consort, true. But the prince consort was sleeping with ser Orion and the queen with Arya Stark. It was even weirder than Cersei and Robert's marriage. Well, at least they were happy.

This new Queensguard was quite good, too. Nowhere near as Aerys's, but maybe on their way to be.

Jaime had eyed Ned Stark's bastard sneaking out of the feast. To be alone perhaps? Ned Stark. He held nothing but apathy for the _honorable lord Eddard Stark._ He decided to follow him. 

Jon needed a breath of fresh air. He still felt strange. 

_Traitor. Traitor of the North._

The voice of Sansa was ringing in his head. It was so strange. She had said those words to him and yet he could picture her telling him. Maybe he could read her mind. After he had sent her the letter, the Northerners must be reeling.

_We made him king, blah, blah, blah. He couldn't do that. It was not right. Blah, blah, blah. _Something like that. Why did it matter? Why couldn't he shake off those thoughts?

Just when he thought he couldn't feel worse, the Kingslayer approached him.

"What do you want?"

"Checking up on you?", he said. "Something wrong, bastard?"

"Nothing." Jon hated this smug man. He was just so...

"Look, I get it. You lost your crown. But it is not the end of the world."

"I don't care about the crown.", he lashed out. "People trusted me. Trusted me to protect their independence. And I just gave it away."

"These people were under your protection. You defend them by giving it away. And besides, you made a good deal for the North. It will be better off than it has ever been. All these northern fuckers have to do is bend the knee. You won't break your legs by doing so. You know it from experience. And it was all for the better. What do you think is better - an independent, starving to death north or it being a region that is well fed and protected?"

Jon knew he was right. He knew. The questions was how to convince his conscious and his people of that.

Arya was having the time of her life. She had come to the Twins three times - one for family, one for revenge and now for...war. But at least she was happy. This time she would leave this wretched castle with good memories, she swore. They leave in two days. And she has two nights here. Two nights to replace the memories of death with memories of love. Of silver hair, bouncing teats and wet cunt. Wow. Arya always felt different. She was. No more pretenses. No more bullshit. She was who she was.

What would her mother think? Or her siblings?

Well, first her siblings were dead and now they lived again. They had never died. Only their parents died.

Would her parents be disappointed that she had turned into the queen's mistress (in every sense of the word), or would they be happy that she was happy? 

Daenerys's fingers were tangled with her own. The cute little queen, who had the loyalty of everyone here. Of all of Westeros, south of the Neck. 

As mistress of laws, Arya had made it a point to acquaint herself with some of them. She was surprised when she had been named to the small council, but she wanted to do a good job, so she started skimming to some books containing the laws of the realm. The first thing she learned was how the realm worked. It was a giant web of allegiances - the crown in the middle, the lords connected to it and each other and at the corners of the web stood the smallfolk. They had basically no rights. A lord could kill his smallfolk for whatever reason he chose. That explained why nobody cared when the Hound killed Mycah, or when the Lannister army had been capturing and torturing peasants. Arya was going to do something about this one day.

"So, may I ask, when did you realize you were into women, mistress of laws?", asked the already drunk Tyrion Lannister.

"So, no secrets in the capital, then?"

"I am afraid not. But don't worry. Nobody cares if you fuck the queen."

"You are drunk.", sternly said ser Jorah, her queen's first follower. "And talk too much."

"As opposed to you, Mormont. You talk too little."

"No one is more little than you, my friend.", quipped lord Varys.

"Oi. You shouldn't have the balls to talk to the Hand of the Queen like that. And I don't like dwarf jokes.", he hissed.

"Neither do I like eunuch jokes.", he replied. "At least mine are good."

"I take great offence at your implications, my lord Spider. I spend many moments crafting my most intricate jokes."

"This must be the first time I see my old friend drunk.", said the cheesemonger Illyrio. "Cheers, my friends, my sweet queen, to friendship, reunions and feasts."

They rose their glasses for the hundredth time tonight. 

Gerrick was drinking with the other Lannister men and some Reach people. The whole military camp was feasting on Reach food, so it was only proper to invite some Reachmen to make a toast and share stories. The whole country was at war for years. And after all this was over, they would go home. Gerrick's brother, Oswyck had been in lord Daven's army during the battle that was called the Eight Hell. It was called rightly so. The men stood no chance. And why send them there? First the Reach was an enemy, then an ally, then an enemy again and now an ally again. He understood little of the game of thrones the high lords played. Their little group consisted of Mern, a Reachman and a Dothraki called Qhono. It was so strange. A bloody dothraki. The man spoke little of the common tongue, but he could be understood well enough.

"You couldn't fight.", the dothraki had told the Lannisters. "Milk people." 

"Gerrick couldn't understand that statement and the dothraki soon left them to rejoin his men.

"You lot were outnumbered. No shame in that. Those fuckers are invincible while riding their horses.", said Mern.

"Still, that place must have been hell.", said Gerrick. His brother was lucky to be alive. Three quarters of the army there had perished.

"It was.", confirmed Oswyck. "I got away with some burns. Lucky me. Most of the others burned to ash."

"When you see all these men dashing towards you and a dragon flying, you run away, not hold some pointless shield line."

"I know. By the way, what do you lot think of this 'army of the dead?"

"Some northern scheme no doubt. Fairy tales. As if that will work on the queen."

"He, you got that right.", agreed Mern. "We have three dragons and the largest army ever. What could go wrong?"

* * *

**Winterfell**

Bran dreamed. He liked doing that. He had no legs, but as the former Three-eyed-raven had promised, Bran had learned how to fly. Soar through history, all of it for his eyes. He could see the past, every second of it. The present, too. He had been observing how the largest army in Westeros was travelling North, to fight the army of the dead. Even if they did not realize what that truly meant. Nobody here did. That is why so many of the Northern lords, Sansa included, did not believe they needed Daenerys. But they did. Jon and Daenerys were the ones who will bring the dawn back. They were two sides of the same coin. The coin that all of humanity had to bet on its survival. And it had already done so, even if they couldn't possibly know it. Alas, the future was darkness. He knew that the Others will not be stopped at the Wall. He knew the Wall will fall. Even though as the three-eyed-raven, Bran could only watch, never act, he would have told them how it will happen. But why? Nothing will change. They couldn't stop it. If they tried, there was a high chance that the enemy will become even stronger. He knew that it would come to a battle. The battle for life itself. But he couldn't see what happened next. Why? He knew not. Would they lose?

No. They still had a chance. The Night king's army was over 100 000 strong, but so was the army of the living. As a precaution, Sansa had ordered that all the people who lived in the Northern parts of the region were to flee south. To Winterfell or preferably - to the Barrowlands. No need to make the Night king's army even stronger.

Bran retreated from the future and decided to take solace into the past. He went back to the Tower. The Tower of Joy. An ironic name. That tower brought nothing but misery. Bran went inside, just like he was going to do before his teacher had stopped him. There was Lyanna Stark, dying. She was dying in childbirth. Complications from one, it would seem.

"Promise me, Ned. Promise me.", Lyanna weakly whimpered to her brother, Bran's father. "His name is Jaehaerys. If Robert finds out about him, he will kill him. Please, save my son. Protect him."

Son? 

A servant approached his father and gave him a baby, covered in cloth. A living baby. A baby with black hair and grey eyes.

_No, it can't be._

And yet.... 

His father went to Dorne and returned with the news of his dead sister and a bastard on his hand. A bastard. The bastard of Ned Stark it was not. Jon Snow was Jaehaerys Sand, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. 

It all made sense now. Father had convinced Jon to go to the Night's watch, who upon entering the order, abandoned all right to inheritance. He would have been safe from everyone. From schemers and Robert. Luckily, Jon looked like a true Stark, so no one doubted his false identity.

The whole rebellion was build on a lie. 

Bran wanted to see more. He ventured back. He wanted to see how it started between the two. He saw Rhaegar singing at Harrenhall. His aunt weeping at the lyrics. He saw them kiss. He saw them ride off into the sunset. An escape from her marriage, that would have no doubt been miserable. And then...he saw a wedding. A wedding between...them. But how? A marriage annulled, a marriage made. They were married. But, that means...

His name is Jaehaerys Targaryen, the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms. A king, who wished no crown. A king, whose parentage only two people could prove. Two northerners. The south wouldn't care.

They had a queen. They had an heir. Jon, Jaehaerys rather, wanted them not and they wanted him neither. But, Jon had to know. Bran had to tell him the truth. He could only hope, the truth will not hurt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, next - truly Winterfell.


	14. Welcome To Winterfell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OKay, I wanted to fix her welcome in winterfell, for I felt that despite Dany's obvious superior qualities, she was absolutely muted. And now the truth comes out.  
Also I wanted to do a Night king POV and explain how he will breach the Wall.

**Winterfell**

The boy rushed to see them. The royal progress. The Queen of the South was coming here. To help them battle the ice monsters. Eric always feared the Others would come for him in his sleep. His mother had warned him that would happen, if he was not nice. And now the monsters were going to be beaten. He was happy about that. All that. And yet, no one else seemed happy. Why? 

He tried to spy on the queen, but all the others were taller than him. He had quickly turned desperate, until he saw a tree. He climbed on the branches and looked at them. The procession was led by King Jon and his sister, lady Arya Stark. Behind them rode many soldiers in outfits, unseen by the boy before. He was too young to remember the time when king Robert arrived. There were four knights in shining white armor with a dragon on it and a white cloak. _So cool._

He also saw several carriages, but where was the queen. And the dragons.

As soon as he thought about it, he heard a sound, his ears had never before encountered. A screech from the skies. And then he saw them. There were three of them. A black one, a green one and a gold one. She must be riding one of them.

"Ugh, we have finally arrived. It is colder than I remember.", quipped Tyrion. It was only himself and Varys in the carriage. The rest rode horses. Illyrio had decided to return to the capital, after sending them off from the Twins. Not that he could be any use here. Honestly, Tyrion half thought that Illyrio had travelled with them only so that he could be at the feast at the Twins.

"Well, it is winter.", said Varys. "But seeing the eyes of our spectators, I would imagine it can get chillier."

"I know. Once upon a time, I considered Jon Snow to be a master of brooding, but apparently, that applies to almost every northerner. What do you think these people are angrier about? The fact that their king bend the knee to the daughter of Aerys II or that their princess spends her nights at the new queen's bed?"

"They do not know of the latter.", replied Varys. And they better not, for if the northerners start questioning the leadership of their precious Starks too much, they might get a Red Wedding, act II kind of welcome.

"Still, these northerners and their bloody honor. As if they are the only ones that have some."

"Remember, just because Jon Snow bent the knee, doesn't mean that everyone here loves her automatically. Rather, they might revolt against him...and her."

"With what?", asked incredulously Tyrion. "Their armies were almost annihilated in the recent wars. They have less than 10 000 men. We have brought, what, 17 times that?"

"Wars work in more than simple numbers, as you well know, old friend. My worries are chiefly about your ex-wife."

"Sansa." Varys was right to worry. Sansa spent years in the Red keep, hostage to the schemes of Cersei and Baelish, and here, hostage of the Boltons. She survived. But that happens only if one becomes ruthless enough. After finally getting control over her surroundings, giving it up to the woman, whose sole connection to her is that she murdered her grandfather and uncle.... 

This is not going to be easy.

Arya and Jon were finally home. And, of course, she was nervous. 

"Sansa.", she muttered.

"Do you expect her to be happier than any of these people here? OUR people?"

"Oh, will you stop moping about it? It is getting old."

"I am well past that already. But them? No chance. Sansa will react. The questions is whether she will do something stupid or not."

"Daenerys promised me not to make me choose between the two of them." Arya believed that promise. But...

"Sansa has not promised the same thing.", Jon finished her thought. "It won't come to that. Sansa can grumble all she likes, but she cannot oppose her."

"Not directly."

They entered the gates. The procession reminded her so much of the time when king Robert came here, all these years ago. They were all so innocent. Father, mother and Robb were alive. Arya and Sansa knew nothing of horror and dread. Jon was still sulking. At least one constant.  
Sansa stood before the other lords here. She had a smile on her face that did not match her eyes. Arya had learned to recognize those kinds of looks. Littlefinger had the same look in his eyes. Before Arya gutted him, that is. 

_Please, don't make me choose between you and her. _A silent prayer to the Old Gods. Not that she worshipped them anymore, but if they had a place of power, that would be the North. Her God of Death accepted only one prayer: _Not today._ She asked_: Not anytime soon._

She would have to think of something.

"Where is she?", Sansa asked. Arya knew who _she_ was. And as if summoned her dragons' roars were heard. The black one, Drogon, landed in the middle of the yard of Winterfell and the Queen of the Andals, The Rhoynar, The First men and Arya Stark's heart, landed on the ground as regal as always.

"She is here.", Jon stated the obvious as she approached. Her dragons flew off after this little show of force. 

"Thank you, for the warm welcome, my lady. You have a most beautiful home.", Daenerys said. Her tone was noticeably different when she said _warm_, but seemed otherwise sincere. Winterfell used to be warm for Arya, once upon a time. Even more so when she had returned here. But now, now it seemed cold and distant. As If she was swimming in a cold river, trying not to drown.

"Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.", Sansa coldly replied.

After the formal welcome, came the unpleasantness. They gathered inside Winterfell's great hall. For all its charm, Dany couldn't help but feel the place as a trap made of ice. The people's stares at her and her people. Those were even colder than the weather. And unfortunately, she had to act nice with that cold bitch, Arya calls sister. That girl is beautiful, but my, those eyes were cold. Just like the rest of this frozen wasteland these people call home. It was truly beautiful here, the North had the same beauty that one would find in the Red Waste. Only it had ice, instead of sand. Frankly, the only reason why she will not allow Northern independence was because of its size. It was about a third of Westeros. She couldn't just let that happen. These men and women can grumble and argue all they like, if they think they would scare her away, they have another thing coming. For ice melts.

This so called Great hall, lacked a throne. All it had were three tables, with benches. - two on the sides and one in the middle, heading it all. Jon sat in the middle chair, with Dany on his left and Sansa Stark to his right. Only out of courtesy, did she allow for Jon to take head all this. Arya was seated beside Dany. Beside her, wheelchair bound, sat Bran Stark, her brother. The man was the creepiest one of all. His blank stare creeped her out. On the other two tables sat separated Dany's followers and Jon's. A gallery of sulking people. This was Jon Snow's home all right. 

Before any of them had a chance to address this crowd, someone spoke first.

"What should we call you now?", asked a little girl, obviously of some importance. "You are no longer king, we hear. Are you now a lord or...nothing at all?"

"Lady Mormont, I did what I believed was right. We needed the help of the South and to do so I needed to give up my crown. It is a small price to pay to defeat the army of the dead.", said Jon. Dany had to admit that he was good with words. He was basically saying _She made me do it._

"We made you king.", shouted another lord, an older man this time. "You cannot just toss the crown _we_ gave you away like some toy." He put a special emphasis on the _we_, as if to remind him they made him king. "And instead, you bend the knee to this...dragonspawn.", he was obviously going for a stronger word, but that did the trick.

Daenerys was losing her patience. Arya was eyeing him like a wolf looks at a rabbit it is about to eat. Ser Edwin had his hand on his sword's hilt. She best prevent a bloodbath.

"Shall this one bring you his tongue, my queen?", asked Grey Worm.

"Yes, please...NO, NO, no.", slip of the tongue, which might have looked like a mummery scene, except most here spoke little to no High Valyrian. Thank all the Gods for that.

"My lords and ladies.", she stood and addressed the crowd. "I understand your anger and confusion at the recent changes. I understand that you have all suffered under the yoke of inept and unjust kings. I am deeply sorry about all the grief that my father and brother have caused you in the past. A past _I_ was not even born in yet, but one you seem determined to blame me about none the less.", she paused to let some common sense soak into the stubborn goats. How dare they blame her for crimes she didn't commit. Crimes that happened before she was even born to begin with.

"But", she continued. "Let me make one thing abundantly clear. I do NOT care.", she enjoyed the murmurs and angry stares for a bit before continuing. "You think that you are the only people in Westeros who have suffered? Well, hate to break it to you, but you are not. The other regions of Westeros like the Reach and the Riverlands have also suffered.", she saw lord Tully and others from their party murmur in agreement. "I was forced into exile as soon as I was born. Forced to live on scraps and mercies, plots and dreams. I forced myself into a position of power through sheer force of will, not because my last name meant something. Back in Essos, nobody cares much about your last name. First and foremost, I am queen by right of conquest. I will not give up my rights and takings just because a few people grumble at me. You think that your angry stares can scare me. Well, they cannot. I intend to fix this ruined realm and no one will stop me. Remember that."

She sat back onto her seat and reviewed the mixed reactions in the Great hall.

Sansa Stark seemed red with anger. _Should cool her off._

Jon Snow looked scandalized. _Sorry kid, but this is reality._

Tyrion looked both amused and also worried. _When isn't he?!_

Arya seemed in heat, in spite of the cold weather, and ready to jump on her any moment. _Later, love._

Loras and the rest of their allies looked at her with pride in their eyes.

_The child I used to be died on the plains of the Dothraki sea and was reborn a dragon. Let them know that._

The northern lords looked shocked. Apparently, a southern girl was not expected to act like that. Well, this southern girl has lost her patience.

"Your Grace.", the little girl from earlier addressed her. "I am glad that our 'king' did not bend the knee to the first pretty woman he saw, but to someone who has some strength about them.", everyone, especially Daenerys, were surprised at that comment. "But why do you believe that you can, as you say, fix the realm?"

"An excellent question, lady Mormont. Before coming to Westeros, I had conquered Slaver's bay, where I vowed to liberate every slave there and end the practice in that land. People said I was mad for even attempting such a thing. And yet, I succeeded. So the reason for my confidence is quite simple really: I tend to win."

* * *

**Lands of Always Winter**

He had been wondering the frozen lands for a years upon years. Countless moons have passed, since the day they turned him. He had long since forgotten the name his mother had given him upon birth. He doesn't have one anymore, though he is fairly certain that the living will have given him one. The Children of the Forest had enslaved him with their spells and turned him into a monster to fight his fellow men. But they created one that hated the very definition of life itself. He will end it. He knew not what resistance he will face and he cared not. He will win. Especially now. It took him what seemed an eternity to restore his forces, but it mattered not. For he was not a living creature and so he did not know death. After his first attempt, he lost his fellow men and his undead hordes. He was left alone and wounded. It took him a long time to recover in the Lands of Always Winter. Lands, untouched by life. After he woke, he started recruiting. He needed more men like him. But that was not easy. He lacked the magics of the Children so he needed to use newborn children to make more like him. They were weaker than he, but they would do. He also needed to rebuild his forces. He had looked everywhere for corpses to turn. But here, they were few. Still, over the many years, he had managed to acquire enough for a start.

That wall could not be breached due to the spells in it. He had to break it down and now he finally had the means to do so. It took him a long time to find this. A living person, unlike any he had ever seen, had tried to come here. Why, he cared not. That person had ridden a majestic beast, large and with wings. Despite the fact that it must have been years since those have died, their bodies had been well preserved. The cold here allowed no rot, for everything froze into place. That beast was more powerful than anything he had ever encountered, he felt it. Much better than their ice spiders used to be. The moment he saw it, he knew. He knew he could use it to destroy the Wall.

He used his power on it and its eyes opened, both of them blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. Please comment, I love reading your views and comments.
> 
> Next - the revelation of Jon's parentage, reactions to Dany's speech and some war preparations.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone that reads this work of mine. Everyone, who wants to express their opinions, please do so in the comment section. It will be appreciated. Give kudos, too. I love receiving feedback, helps with the work:)


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